#mysticism special interests

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

"Let me fall if I must fall. The one I will become will catch me." — Rabbi Baal Shem Tov

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Ah, here's where I've left my résumé.

"Elizabeth Barrett Browning from Aurora Leigh, 1856" - x

[hitwiththetmnt]

When does Donnie get his Dragon and do Karai Splinter And April get/Have their own Ninpo Dragon

So the non spoiler answer is soon ^v−☆

I talk about splinter here, and April here

Spoilers!!! (???)⬇️

So in terms of ninpo/ mystic magic, Donnie is a very “seeing is believing”. Mans is logical and a scientist at heart. Seeing your brothers nab some magical weapons and get draconic copies of themselves that literally break every rule in the book, on top of everything that happens in the first episode of the show??? That’s a lot going on in bros head

So Donnie is too frazzled wrapping his head around the whole thing to even think about the possibility that he would be in the same situation. And when he does, he doesn’t have the same confidence/ situation as his brothers

He’s hesitant, curious, a bit jealous of how easily his brothers jumped into the situation, and a tad scared. To Donnie this is more than a cool weapon or little buddy. This is a discovery ✨

When it comes to Donnie, he needs to first accept the idea he might also have a connection to this “ninpo” and then connect with this new mysterious extension of himself

Kari is a bit of a question mark for me. Her character is so interesting and unique in the rise show but she’s kind of there then gone quickly

It’s kind of to early to tell what relationship she would have with the AU, If I ever incorporated her into the story that is

Thank you for the questions! Believe me guys, I’m cooking and figuring out the AU (-v-)

[rhinocio]

NOW WITH PODFIC ACCOMPANIMENT!

[rfaromance]

Locking Vyn, Jumin, and V in the penthouse for a night just to see what happens. What will they talk about?

the funny answer: their daddy issues

the funnier answer: nothing, because after a glass of wine, Vyn sees Elizabeth the 3rd and almost has a psychological episode thinking that Puff broke into the penthouse.

the genuine answer: I could easily see the three of them discussing the importance of hobbies. Jumin is someone who is primarily seen as a businessman; for those who are not familiar with him (and even those who are), he is someone who is difficult to imagine outside of a well-tailored suit. But Jumin Han is not a business robot-- he is a complex human being with his own desires, interests, and drives! He may not be bold enough to discuss his interests around Vyn, but he would vaguely allude to the fact that diversity of activities are beneficial for one's mental health and one's intellect. He would give V a meaningful glance, which would likely end in V sheepishly divulging a bit of his complicated history with art. He may be a famous photographer now, but he stifled his soul for many years and that made him miserable. He would be happier to go into obscure details of photography and how he surprisingly found a career through what once began as a hobby, and he may even confess his secret wish to pick up a paintbrush one day. Maybe in the privacy of his own home with a lover. Vyn, for his part, would agree that hobbies are important for one's overall health. Vyn being Vyn, he could go on a (condescending) tangent about how all things are only good in moderation, and not to let oneself become obsessed with anything, whether work or hobby. But he's guilty as charged for doting over his garden, and even if baking is a hobby that came to be from his troubled childhood, these days he can take pride and find contentment in it.

But it's all over when Vyn offers to show Jumin and V a card trick. Now Jumin wants to progress beyond sleight of hand to some real magic.

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Oh, that's interesting... It's complicated in my case because I'm from the first generation who could openly have a religious identity; my grandparents' and parents' traditions (Shamanic, Eastern Orthodox Christian, Jewish) were all suppressed for almost a century, so they knew nothing of it, let alone how to pass it on to children. Now I identify with neither of theirs, instead relying on personal spiritual experience and passionate study of many different interpretations. Maybe older relatives still indirectly influenced me in a sense, simply because lost/forbidden knowledge is the most enticing knowledge, and also I was truly fascinated by stories of how some people managed to secretly preserve their cultures and beliefs under threat; I guess it stirred up my interest even more (and, of course, made me very defensive of this newfound liberty and visibility). So... thanks for including "other / something else" in both polls 👍

[unopenablebox]

what the fuck is happening in this post

[description in alt text]

like to be clear the video itself is fine, it's neat to watch a life cycle, mushrooms are fun to look at, no objections

but the comment.... like, does this person think that the dust being used is just random Fungal Dust and fungi can regenerate from any random cell? that's a spore print!! it is made of reproductive spores. the entire point of spores is to grow new fungi, they are indistinguishable from plant seeds for the purpose we're discussing here. if you're going to write some stupid shit about immortality on this video you should also do it on literally every video of a growing plant, because it is the same fucking thing

jesus fucking christ

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Re-reading Evolution, and it's even better as a whole with some things from the final chapter in hindsight.

These enigmatic metaphors go too well with the Calendar Council's inspiration from "The Man Who Was Thursday" and what its author said: "You ask me who Sunday is? Well, you may call him Nature, if you like. But you will note that I hold that when the mask of Nature is lifted you find God behind."

My mind is passionately gnawing on an AU (NOT meant to be a theory, just a purely self-indulgent fantasy): what if "Death's twin" is literally Life – which makes December the Creator – and the Judgements are merely usurpers (very befitting their usual role of a flawed and cruel Gnostic demiurge who only pretends to be the highest authority) who deposed December just like they banished the Black King of the Adulterine Castle?

Or, if December isn't a deity, simply a rebellious servant (because the Boatman says "we both served the same table once"), what if it was a forced reduction from the former to the latter as a first-warning punishment?

What if this original god of life-and-death truly cared about all creatures equally, but then the likes of the Sapphir'd King decided to devour souls for more power instead of guiding them through rebirth (which Devils reclaimed + which somehow-December-connected frost moths represent) and devised the Great Chain to justify the right of "greater" beings to prey on "lesser" ones?

What if the Liberation of Night isn't an overthrow of natural order but is a return to what it should always have been (before "then the light came") and it's no coincidence that the Anchoress managed to behold god's love and true design only in the darkness? (High-fiving this @gant-eyed-warden’s post.)

What if the Bishop of St Fiacre’s knows it all – and that’s where his hopeful religious devotion comes from despite being a Neathy creature that would never be forgiven and accepted by the Judgements?

...I definitely want to write something about it, but I already have two WIPs, ooooh...

[garden-of-islam]

Islam and Daoism

Daoism is not a religion in the strictest sense of the word, but it can be practiced as one. There is no dogma and for this reason, it can be difficult to describe what Daoism is or what Daoists believe. Some practice magic like fulu or Yi Jing and others do not. Some use ritual and others are more free form in their approach. Some practice meditation while others have barely tried it. The common theme is that most Daoists are familiar with the Dao De Jing in some way. The link provided is in PDF form and happens to be my personal favorite translation. The editor is quite brilliant to have used Laotse's premier scholar, Chuangtse, as direct commentary on the work. The differences arise in that there were many students, and students of students, and differences in practices arose and branched off, etc. Additionally, we don't know the real name of the person who wrote the Dao De Jing. Laotse is an honorific but some people think his given name might have been Li Er. Some people think it may have been authored by a committee. My favorite myth about it is that it was written upon request as the Old Master left the country. The lack of good history on the subject can be chalked up to the fact that it was fundamentally different from the Confucian societal values, even going as far as to critique Confucianism, and therefore, they did not do it the justice of keeping good records of Daoist historical development. The Daoists did a fairly good job of preserving their own manuscripts though, so there is a good body of literature out there, even today.

Now, the idea of a god in Chinese history was that of an idol. For Daoists to claim that the Dao was older than any god would in fact make it closer to the concept of God in His pure form, as described in Surat al-Ikhlas. But it does fall short, because the Dao De Jing also describes the Dao as impersonal in that it doesn't directly care about or pay attention to the creation that it gives rise to. The original Daoists were certainly observant, but they probably lacked the knowledge of the unseen that would've allowed them to understand God's deep love for us. Still, their perception of the natural world did give rise to a deep respect for it. Stewardship is a value in Islam that predates Ibrahim AS and is being revived today within the faith through some groups.

At this point, you might be saying, "Okay great. That's a lot of facts but you haven't really tied anything together yet." And to you I say, "Hold up, I haven't had any coffee yet and I'm tired." *** *** I have now had coffee and nothing has changed. You will perhaps enjoy doing some of your own rumination on this one.

While I do not claim to know the unseen, I am a fairly intuition dominant person and I have many suspicions about many things. I mentioned in a previous essay that Islam teaches that before Muhammad ﷺ was sent as the final messenger of God, a messenger was sent to every nation, as many as 124,000 in total, all around the world. My thinking is that Daoism represents a remnant of the work of a prophet or, perhaps, multiple prophets who were sent to the people of China. You may or may not know that China as we know it today contains AT LEAST 56 ethnic groups so if one prophet was sent for each linguistic group, well, that's a lot of prophets.

For all you mystic types out there, you may want to compare it to Sufism, but I have to caution you in that no Daoist was reflecting on the infinite love of the Dao. And if you think self cultivation and spiritual maturity is ONLY practiced within the Sufi sect, then think again. But this misconception arises due to differences among cultures and cultural interpretations of Islam, not the religion itself. If you live in a corner of the world where Islam has become flattened or is grossly misunderstood, then I get it. Is this the part where I complain about people who claim to be the most enlightened are often the most spoiled, entitled a******s who can't engage in healthy conflict resolution to save their own lives? You know, people who claim to be allies of marginalized people but still need to be SEEN at Coachella? Those kinds of people. <It was at this moment she realized that the practice of Haya was a form of love for others, and even a path toward environmentalism>

As for me, I am neither a warrior in a garden nor a gardener in a war. I am merely a bull in a china shop, breaking everything and apologizing profusely and I am forever in debt to the people around me. I give thanks to God who I pray will forgive me.

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

ㅤ Ophites’ liturgical vestment:

People will try to ask me, "What does the snake mean in Ophite gnosticism?" You don't understand! IT'S SNAKES ALL THE WAY DOWN. Christ is a snake, Sophia is a snake, The Demiurge is a snake, Leviathan is a snake Satan is a snake your intestines are snakes NOUS THE WORLDMIND IS A SNAKE!

[fierysword]

Exodus 19, describing how Moses met God in a thick darkness or cloud, is a favourite symbol for conveying the experience of the incomprehensibility of the divine nature. The divine darkness signifies that God is essentially [unknown] to man. It also signifies the impossibility of describing God...

The limits of man’s rationality in relation to God is a fundamental aspect of the tradition. God cannot be named or described because all language is inadequate for expressing the divine... God’s negative, or apophatic, nature also implies that dogmas or doctrines are seen rather as ways of safeguarding the divine mystery than as definitive expressions of the contents of faith.

Clement of Alexandria and the Beginnings of Christian Apophaticism by Henny Fiska Hagg

[templeofshame]

.

[aro-ace-thetic]

gamers if i start posting cringe. please. spare me.

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

It is such a perfect combination of so many of my favourite things (art + world's manifold forms of spirituality + something otherwise inexpressible being translated between different types of medium and surviving for ages despite existing in that fragile ephemeral state + melancholic beauty of sepia and ink) that I'm in love 😍

Three leaves from a Tibetan musical score used in Buddhist monastic ritual with the notation for voice, drums, trumpets, horns and cymbals, date unknown

Photo: The Hum

[aprotestforyourheart]

I think today for my English class I am going to write my book report on the assigned reading by comparing the book to Twilight, despite not having read/watched Twilight or finishing the assigned reading :)

[xxfillerxx]

OH dandelion is 30$ off Steam 😭😭 welp... anything for the lore, I'll hand over 30 bucks esp if I can wait for a potential steam sale