#The Academy of Realization

[eyeoftheheart]

A Sohbet recording of the Treshold Society with reflections on a Ghazel of Hafiz, the philosopher’s stone of love and the secret of Sufi Alchemy, the Alchemy of the Heart.

THE ACADEMY OF REALIZATION

You who are not yet aware, become the possessor of awareness. If you haven't traveled, how can you be a guide? In the Academy of Realization, pay attention to the adept of love, so that one day, O son, you may become a father. Wash your hands of the cheap metals of existence like the mature, so that you may find the philosopher's Stone of love and be gold yourself. Sleeping and eating has kept you far away from your true level. You will come to yourself when you give up sleeping and eating. If the light of the love of truth falls on your heart and soul, you will be more beautiful than the sun of the skies. For one moment drown yourself in the sea of God, don't think the seven seas will wet a single hair of yours. From head to toe you will become the light of God when you lose yourself on his resplendent road. Once God's face becomes the only thing you see, you will surely become a master of vision. When the basis of your existence is overthrown, empty your heart, for you will also be overthrown. O Hafiz, if your head is set on the climax of union, be the dust on the threshold of those who can see.

Translated By Kabir Helminski

***

“Wash your hands of the cheap metals of existence like the mature, so that you may find the philosopher’s Stone of love and become gold yourself.”

The ghazel describes a quite extraordinary process and experience of transformation, a whole spiritual teaching. Washing our hands of what is false and unreal, the Sufi transforms through love. One who has travelled a certain road far enough will have experiences to associate with the lines of this poem.

We deepen in awareness so that our hearts become capable of experiencing the Divine Presence, of what is truly real, the light of God. The lover of truth cultivates this experience, built on very reliable practices. We learn to open up a resonance with the Divine and with the Masters of Love.

To become the light of God is to pass through nothingness. It is beautiful to live creatively, with purpose, knowing that the best we can be is a reflector of some Infinite Unknown. We learn to increasingly trust this more than what we thought was ourselves.

sufism.org/library/be-gold-yourself-11062014

[jason-please-see-a-psychiatrist]

okay i just thought of the funniest fucking headcanon but what if the reason five cant find a decent cup of coffee is because he just doesnt like coffee

[5five5five5five5five5five]

five's smile is literally just :] or >:]

its wide, cocky and bracket shaped.

[clementineofmine]

I'm sitting here rewatching Tua S3 for reasons, and one interesting thing I picked up is that the entire season is really just each of the Umbrellas struggling to define and searching for family in their own way. Here's me laying down some thoughts for y'all:

Luther - For him, family has always been about the team. That's part of the reason he's so drawn to the Sparrows, bc at first they seem to have the cohesiveness that the Umbrellas lacked. Remember, Luther was the last one left at the Academy, then Reginald sent him to the moon alone. So of course seeing a "functional" team is going to be compelling for him, and he desperately wants to be part of it. And then he and Sloane quickly fall in love and for the first time in his entire life, someone wants him for him. It's intoxicating and utterly consuming NRE that is more powerful than anything he's ever felt.

Diego and Lila - For these two, it's about figuring out how to be a family. Both together, but also a little bit with the other Umbrellas. Diego looking out for Allison and Klaus and Lila and Five coming to a truce are part of this - more about Lila and Five in a sec.

Allison - In her mind, her family is Claire and Ray. This one is obvious, but I also think that the writers did us a disservice by not letting us into Allison's perspective. If you think about it, it's completely normal for a parent to put their child above all. While I don't defend her actions, her motivation could have been more compelling and it would have strengthened her character. But sadly she's the character on the show that is most "othered" (which is bad for many reasons)

Klaus - he really dug deep into individual relationships w family, starting with Five (e2 and 5 Five and Klaus bonding are still some of the best bits of the season imo), Diego, Reginald, Sparrow Ben, and then Luther in the afterlife.

Five - Five remains a pragmatist. His bar for family is very low - success for him means the Umbrellas being alive, no matter what the personal cost or sacrifice to him or to some extent others. It is somewhat depressingly delightful to see how he makes his peace with the end of the world as the season progresses. Before that, however, I'd like to meander back to e3 and 4 where Lila convinces him to electrocute himself and then they go on the Commission mission. Both of the actors do a fine job here bouncing back and forth between witty banter and genuine emotion and I love it. It's a quick and subtle piece of dialogue when Five explains how he saved Lila from the Handler. The undertone is that they were both abused by that woman in a similar way - ultimately, she developed and kept them both as pawns in her own game. And I think Five, starting in S2E10 and fleshed out through S3, develops genuine empathy for and eventually acceptance of Lila as family, as one of them, because of this shared experience.

Viktor - Like Viktor in all seasons, he continues to feel out of place with the Umbrellas and compensates by over-prioritizing his relationships with others. Don't get me wrong, I do empathize with him that he lost real love with Sissy and Halan, but I also think Allison was 100% valid to call him out on his lying in E6, and it was on point to verbalize how the constant focus on Viktors pain minimizes her (and everyone else's) experience. (Edit to add: Viktor finally seems to get the message on this, after being called out by Allison, then subsequently both Sparrow Ben and Five, and spends the last few episodes trying to make amends. Real character development here and I like to see it)

Reginald - Well, his overarching motivation since S1 has always been bringing back his dead wife, so I won't belabor that, but also it's interesting to see how he interacted with Klaus particularly - esp in E7 when he sobers up it seems he is experimenting with remembering his role as a father. Now we don't get a ton about his internal motivation here, but you can tell there is some mild curiosity, if not affection, for Klaus, despite the fact that he ultimately is cool with sacrificing him.

Some of these are more obvious than others, but when you tie them all together, the idea that they are all desperately looking for family and the blind spots that that creates for them, some of the messiness of S3 starts to make a bit more sense.

[sparring-spirals]

Listen. Smartypants Society? Fuck yeah. I'm going to come clean and admit that I am one of those people that kind of enjoys public speaking/ presentations, and in turn loves seeing people who are Good At Public Speaking/Presentations and enjoy it do their thing. Tricks of timing and emphatic delivery and precise rhetoric and structured argument construction all delivered with charisma dialed up to x100000% is just. 👌

Like, you can make anything sound legit with the right tricks, and in theory I find it SO enjoyable seeing it happen!!! Unfortunately in the context of the Real World this is often seen in contexts that tend to range from Impressive but Sobering or just Literally The Most Frustrating Shit because hey you're talking awful hurtful absolute bullshit but saying it The Right Way, Im Going To Lose it.

So. Therefore........ Smartypants Society generates a deep joy in my soul. Deeply talented speakers/comedians with phenomenal stage presence and quick wit, to use their command over delivery and rhetoric and comedic timing to dissect and break down the most nonsensical things ever? Meticulous argument construction and empassioned delivery about absolute, ridiculous, zero stakes bullshit?? Fuck yeah. Its like seeing someone with expert culinary training and a professionally equipped kitchen make the most 3AM drunk food meal with intentional precision. Tell me why vegetables arent real. Break down who's invited to the cookout. What IS the happiest birthday. Make me believe you. :')

[laurrelise]

was watching spongebob like the very mature grown woman adult i am and this line sounded familiar

[mxflora]

"You both know that games are restricted for Saturday between noon and half-past noon!" - s1, e6

Has anybody else registered the fact that the Umbrella kids could only play for 30 minutes PER WEEK?!! holy shit..

[alwayshere195]

I wish we got Diego and Five in the timeline subway instead of Lila and Five. The deep desire for us getting the same premise but with a different execution.

Imagine Diego going and asking why Five can't blink only to end up in the subway with him. Five reluctantly, explaining everything he knows. Something Diego isn't fully comprehending but understands.

The silly idea of Diego coming up with the timeline travel and getting stuck in the subway with Five. The possibilities of their interactions.

The idea of Apocalypse Five shooting at them, causing Diego to ask who's that. "Me, of course, who else was in the apocalypses?!" Five responds, heading back down into the subway. Diego follows, "Well, sorrrry! I thought you had better aim than that!" Five shoots him a look.

The idea of when they realized they're trapped, we hear dialog. Diego shouting that this is EXACTLY what Five wanted. Klaus was right! He is a chaos junkie!

Five, throwing his hands up: I don't know why everyone says that! I'm not. This isn't what I wanted.

Diego: You appear in your element!

Five: Of course I do! This is all I know, Diego! I got stuck in an apocalypse at 13! 13! I was trapped for 45 years in it! Besides living in it, need I remind that I witnessed it again and again and again?! But that doesn't mean I want it!

Diego: Then what do you want? Because (mocking) Need I remind, you went off to join the CIA. You barely kept in contact for the past 6 years. You-

Five: I want peace! I want silence! I want to not worry about you idiots! I want... Forget it. Let's keep looking to get out of here.

How it finally pushes these two to talk. Their relationship has been rocky but there's always trust between them. Plus, Five doesn't really open up. So for the day to come where Diego once again pushes Fives buttons but the correct ones this time to get a

Five: I'm tired, ok? I have seen you all die again and again and again. I'm tired. I tried time traveling, I tried talking, I tried murder, I've tried, and it all keeps going to hell. There's only so much before it feels impossible or that I'm the problem. Sure, Viktor caused the first three apocalypse but not those after that. Not all this (refering to the subway). Only I could come here...

Diego, sighing after hearing all this for the first time: Yeah, you are a problem. A problematic piece of shit like the rest of us. And for holding all this in like a secret to take to the grave. But you're not to blame for everything. If anyone's to blame, it's Dad.

How they grow closer and Diego realizes just how tired Five is. He's exhausted and barely holding on. It doesn't help that no one in the family ever truly thanked him. So he does. Gives Five a genuine "Thanks by the way. For spending 45 years and some figuring out how to save us. I appreciate it. I like being alive." And how Five gets quiet as thats all he ever truly wanted. A thank you.

How Diego opens up about his relationship issues and how his rants turn into frustration about it all. Him voicing how he'd LOVE "bookclub" because FUCK MAN he needs a "bookclub" too! He'd be in full support! And he wished she was more vocal about things like he is instead of playing the guessing game. And how it turns into all the things he wants to do when he sees her again. Tell her everything. Open up. Hold her. Kiss her. Be in the same love he always really had for her. Fives there supporting him.

Five finds the journal and ponders it. Keeps the information hidden from Diego for a day or two before he's caught reading it. Diego's rightfully upset but Five brings up points.

Five: I was reading it. Making sure I understood what to do before we had a talk.

Diego: A talk? What is there to talk about?

Five: What if it went to shit out there and everyone's died? What if-

Diego: No, Five. There is no ifs here. We're going back and we're going to see how things are. Worst case scenario, we go back in time and save their lousy asses. Together. Best case scenario, we see our family again. I get to see Lila and my kids again.

Five: Right...

They go back and they find out that Luther and Lila ended up going to the CIA because "My husband always talks about this place, and my brother-in-law works here. So maybe there's information." And it makes Diego's hesrt flutter.

Just... what we could have had.

[sea-buns]

Zac's stance of "I really like to know exactly what to do" speaks to me on such a level simply in the context of this neurodivergent life that I live

[mayahawkeswife]

warning do NOT. listen to bug like an angel by mitski and think abt klaus hargreeves. it does NOT. go well.

[its-storminghere]

Cele, the baby of the vr46 academy, is 22 now, the SAME AGE Marc was during the divorce. Vale when I catch you!!!!

[gay-crappost]

Comic book and tv show five go brrrr

[ash-and-starlight]

thank you @mafaldinablabla for the tag!! the game is to share 9 of my favourite books from the last 12 months, or 9 books on my tbr list for this year.

Here is what i’m looking forward to read this year! (my hunt for beautiful covers never ends. in this house books Shall be judged by their cover)

tagging uhh @erisenyo, @chitsangenthusiast, @ranilla-bean, @poikilotherm, @kyoshialone and whoever else wants to do it u.u

[the-wizard-dipper]

Dipper's got a little more... bite in some of the early drafts of the AU, I've been seriously tempted to lean that way again as I've grown to better understand what kind of story I want to tell with him.

Thoughts bellow the cut...

He skipped a grade, he's got the best grades in his class, he's "the gifted kid who's going places". Finding out that magic is real is the ultimate wish fulfillment of this nerdy little kid and the proof for that little inside voice of his that he's not just smart, he's special.

He's a good kid, but one who's been told how smart and mature he is one too many times. Unlike Norman, he hasn't spent his entire life being told that he's wrong for being different; Dipper's got the confidence to demand answers when with faced with something he doesn't understand.

There's probably not a world where Dipper starts bullying Norman, Norman's too good at keeping his head down and would never confront Dipper. But Norman has something Dipper needs and there are the ingredients for a very unhealthy friendship, if Dipper doesn't lean to see Norman as an equal and Norman doesn't learn to stand up for himself.

Of course, that's what the rest of the story is for.

Enough of the heavy character stuff, since you read this far you've earned yourself some of that sweet sweet Parapines content that I know you're all here for.

Art by @flipsidered

[kacievvbbbb]

Say what you will about the rest of the season but the umbrella is going to academy and by god will there be an absolutely amazing dance sequence to truly the funkiest music

[xuroky]

Eyo do you think farcille is a "someone fell first the other fell harder" situation? If so, who and who

falin: fell first

marcille: fell the fuck harder