Saturday 13 January 2018

Glory




"Quitting my day job and starting my life as a writer was a tremendous risk. 


It was a 
Fool's Leap. 




A Shot in The Dark. 



But, anything of any value in our lives, whether that be a career, a work of art, a relationship, will always start with such a leap. 




And in order to be able to make it, you have to put aside the 
Fear of Failing 
and the 
DESIRE of SUCCEEDING. 




You have to do these things completely purely, Without Fear 
Without Desire




Because things that we do without Lust of Result are the purest actions that we shall ever take."

- Alan Moore






The Catholic doctrine on this subject is defined by the Council of Florence (see Denzinger, 588). (See CREATIONGOOD.)

Human glory

To enjoy glory before Men is to be known and honoured on account of one's character, qualities, possessions, position, or achievements, real or imaginary. 
The moral question arises, is the desire and pursuit of this glory lawful? The doctrine on the subject is succinctly stated by St. Thomas (II-II, Q. cxxxii). 
Posing the question whether the desire of glory is sinful, he proceeds to answer it in the following sense: Glory imports the manifestation of something which is estimated honourable, whether it be a spiritual or a corporal good. Glory does not necessarily require that a large number of persons shall acknowledge the excellence; the esteem of a few, or even of oneself, may suffice, as, for example, when one judges some good of his own to be worthy of praise. That any person esteem his own good or excellence to be worthy of praise is not in itself sinful; nor, in like manner, is it sinful that we should desire to see our good works approved of men. "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works" (Matthew 5:16). Hence the desire of glory is not essentially vicious.
But a vain, or perverse desire for renown, which is called vainglory, is Wrong; desire of glory becomes perverse,
  • when one seeks renown because of something not really worthy; 
  • when one seeks the esteem of those whose judgment is undiscriminating; 
  • when one desires glory before men without subordinating it to righteousness.
Vainglory may become a deadly sin, if one seek the esteem of Men for something that is incompatible with the reverence due to God
or when the thing for which one desires to be esteemed is preferred in one's affections before God
or again, when the judgment of Men is sought in preference to the judgment of God, as was the case with the Pharisees, who "loved the glory of men more than the glory of God" (John 12:43). 

The term "vainglory" denotes not alone the sinful act, but also the vicious habit or tendency engendered by a repetition of such acts. 

This habit is ranked among the capital sins, or, more properly vices, because it is prolific of other sins, viz., 
  • disobedience, 
  • boastfulness, 
  • hypocrisy
  • contentiousness, 
  • discord, and 
  • a presumptuous love of pernicious novelties in moral and religious doctrine.

Don't Fix The Bible


Noah's Ark is a problem--
We'll have to call it early Quantum
State phenomenon



Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) walks in on River (Summer Glau) as she is "fixing" his Bible. 




INT. SERENITY - DINING ROOM - DAY
River sits at the dining table. Book's Bible is open in front of her, and she scribbles furiously into it, crossing out words, writing in the margins. Book walks in, speaks from across the room.
BOOK
What are we up to, sweetheart?

RIVER
Fixing your Bible.

BOOK
I--uh-- What?

He starts moving over to her.

RIVER
Bible's broken. Contradictions,
faulty logistics--it doesn't make
sense...

Now Book sees what she's doing. His Bible's all fucked up, and there's a small stack of torn out pages next to it..

BOOK
No, no, you can't...

River's still scribbling away as she chatters manically.

RIVER
So we'll integrate non-progressional
evolution theory with God's creation
of Eden -- eleven inherent metaphoric
parallels already there... eleven,
important number, prime number, one
goes into the house of eleven eleven
times but always comes out one--

BOOK
River, just take it easy. You
shouldn't--

RIVER
Noah's Ark is a problem--

She flips a page back and forth, frowning at it.

BOOK
Really.

RIVER
(rapid nod)
We'll have to call it early quantum
state phenomenon-- Only way to fit
five-thousand species of mammal on
the same boat-
She tears the page out of the book.

BOOK
Gimme that!

Book snatches the Bible up, somewhat possessively.

BOOK (cont'd)
River! You don't fix the Bible!

River looks up at him, sweet, sincere, deadpan:

RIVER
(holds up torn out
pages)
It's broken. It doesn't make sense.

BOOK
It's not about making sense. 
It's about believing in something, and
letting that belief be real enough to
change your life. 

It's about 'faith'.

(gets up)

You don't fix faith, River. 

It fixes you.


He smiles, trying to gently take the crumpled, torn-out pages from her hand. She tugs back. They have a short tug-of-war then Book relents.

BOOK (cont'd)
Why don't you, ah, you hang on to
those then.





[River finds Book reading the Bible]

River: 
Don't be afraid. 
That's what it says. 
"Don't be afraid."

Shepherd Book: 
Yes.

River: 
But you are afraid.

Shepherd Book: 
Yes.

River: 
You're afraid we're going to run out of air. 
That we'll die gasping. But we won't. 
That's not going to happen.

[Book looks at her hopefully]

River: 
We'll freeze to death first.

***?!•57!?*** ?!?!?!?!?!? ***?!•57?!***

KAOS + DISORDER = The Bleeding Edge of Yesterday's News

SOLVE ET COAGULA

L7

***?!•57!?*** ?!?!?!?!?!? ***?!•57?!*** 


***?!•57!?*** ?!?!?!?!?!? ***?!•57?!*** 


KAOS + DISORDER = The Bleeding Edge of Yesterday's News

SOLVE ET COAGULA 

L7

***?!•57!?*** ?!?!?!?!?!? ***?!•57?!*** 





Friday 12 January 2018

Get Behind Me, Satan


”Get Behind Me, Satan!"
- which really does Beg The Question :

Q : Who in their Right-Mind would turn their back on Satan...?!

A : Well - God, obviously. 

And Man (a man) is created in The Living Image of God - and I am a tender, compassionate and loving God (which in no-way makes of me a Fool - merely, Iam in my LEFT-Mind)

"So what are we gonna do?

If you want to change things, the first thing you have to change is yourself.

Because if you don’t change yourself, you will take on the world as if it is yourself – and fuck up. 

You will really fuck up, because you don’t understand your own dark side. 

If you don’t understand your own weird, shitty side.. if you don’t understand the fact that there’s someone in there who will kill your mother, if need be – if you can’t take that on; if you can’t take that on board and realise that Charles Manson and me and you are not much different; that John Wayne Gacy and me and you are not much different – except that he did it. 

Y’know, there’s those days when I’m gonna kill that motherfucker over there – but we don’t do it.

But it’s in us, and it’s there. 

And so much of this is denial. That we have no dark side. 

You know: the hippies, and those lovely people in the rave era who were all on ecstasy – they tried to pretend we have no dark side. 

And what happened was they got fucked up by their own dark side. 

As will ALWAYS happen.

So let’s kiss our Dark Sides; let’s f**k our Dark Sides. "

The Fool's Leap





"As card Zero The Fool lies at the beginning of the Major Arcana, but also somewhat apart from it. Along with unlimited potential this card also stands for the fact that in any moment anything goes, she brings to mind the spontaneity inherent in every moment. She represents the fact that by living in the moment, with nothing expected and nothing planned, you will begin to feel uninhibited and carefree. In this she symbolises a complete faith that the universe is worthy of trust, that it is ok to let go of your fears, for if you trust in the flow of life then you will be protected and loved. This brings us to another aspect of The Fool, that of new beginnings or a change in direction. She will often come up when the querent is about to enter a new phase of their life, starting something new, or going on an adventure."


  • Don't think, feel! 
  • It is like a finger pointing away to The Moon ! 
  • Don't concentrate on The Finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory. 


Do you understand?



Not-Knowing can be a great boon.

Hence The Fool's Leap; Percival was the only of the Grail Knights able to come into the presence of The Grail - why?

He was too stupid/simple to know to look for it - he just wanted to give a drink of water to a dying man; 

"I only saw that you were thirsty".


Percival was able to find The Grail because he didn't want it.

His desire was to express compassion and ease suffering, which is a pure desire. 

Because he just wanted to give a drink to a dying man, the cup he picked up in the castle just happened to be The Grail and The King was miraculously healed - nobody who was looking for it in the castle could see it. 

Precisely because he WASN'T looking for it, he immediately picked it up straight away.




What Self Partnering Really Is





Wednesday 10 January 2018

Dedication to The Prince

Dedication

To the Magnificent Lorenzo Di Piero De’ Medici:
Those who strive to obtain the good graces of a prince are accustomed to come before him with such things as they hold most precious, or in which they see him take most delight; whence one often sees horses, arms, cloth of gold, precious stones, and similar ornaments presented to princes, worthy of their greatness.
Desiring therefore to present myself to your Magnificence with some testimony of my devotion towards you, I have not found among my possessions anything which I hold more dear than, or value so much as, the knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs, and a continual study of antiquity; which, having reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send, digested into a little volume, to your Magnificence.
And although I may consider this work unworthy of your countenance, nevertheless I trust much to your benignity that it may be acceptable, seeing that it is not possible for me to make a better gift than to offer you the opportunity of understanding in the shortest time all that I have learnt in so many years, and with so many troubles and dangers; which work I have not embellished with swelling or magnificent words, nor stuffed with rounded periods, nor with any extrinsic allurements or adornments whatever, with which so many are accustomed to embellish their works; for I have wished either that no honour should be given it, or else that the truth of the matter and the weightiness of the theme shall make it acceptable.
Nor do I hold with those who regard it as a presumption if a man of low and humble condition dare to discuss and settle the concerns of princes; because, just as those who draw landscapes place themselves below in the plain to contemplate the nature of the mountains and of lofty places, and in order to contemplate the plains place themselves upon high mountains, even so to understand the nature of the people it needs to be a prince, and to understand that if princes it needs to be of the people.
Take then, your Magnificence, this little gift in the spirit in which I send it; wherein, if it be diligently read and considered by you, you will learn my extreme desire that you should attain that greatness which fortune and your other attributes promise. And if your Magnificence from the summit of your greatness will sometimes turn your eyes to these lower regions, you will see how unmeritedly I suffer a great and continued malignity of fortune.

Tuesday 9 January 2018

Patmos

Piney is going through his old Army gear, pulling out a folded flag and a gun. Buried at the bottom is a package. Piney opens it and pulls out another copy of John Teller’s manuscript. Piney holds it in his hand, clearly thinking, while Jax smokes out the front of a mausoleum labeled "Patmos", which is where John "the Revelator" (just like this episode's title) is alleged to have lived and where the Book of Revelations is alleged to have been written [in a Dream].

In this instance, John the Relevator could be John Teller, and his Book of Revelations could be seen as the The Life and Death of Sam Crow.

Jax wakes the next morning, having spent the night at the cemetery. Jax hands the blanket back to a homeless woman, and then goes and washes the blood off of his face. He walks to the funeral, and is handed his kutte by Tara. 

The two kiss as Gemma, Clay and Wendy look on. Jax places a flower on Donna’s coffin, then walks away, being watched by all members of SAMCRO. 

After the funeral, Piney finds him sitting on the grave of his brother Thomas. He hands him John’s manuscript, telling Jax it’s time for a change, then leaves. 

The episode ends with Clay and Gemma watching on as Jax stands at his father’s grave, manuscript in hand.

Thursday 4 January 2018

The Bible's Buried Secrets - PBS Nova HD




In this landmark two-hour special, NOVA takes viewers on a scientific journey that began 3,000 years ago and continues today. The film presents the latest archeological scholarship from the Holy Land to explore the beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. This archeological detective story tackles some of the biggest questions in biblical studies: Where did the ancient Israelites come from? Who wrote the Bible, when, and why? How did the worship of one God—the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—emerge?

Banned from the Bible - Secrets of the Apostles

The Lost Gospel of Thomas: Unknown Teachings of Yeshua





Ted Nottingham offers a special presentation on key passages of the Gospel of Thomas, considered to be older than the four Gospels and source material for them.  In these sayings of Jesus, lost to the world for two thousand years, we find a depth of wisdom and spiritual knowledge (gnosis) that is utterly transformational to those who would meditate on them and apply them to the moments of their lives.

The presentation is published, along with additional material and the book can be found on Amazon and Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Gospel-Tho... Further teachings at: http://innerworkforspiritualawakening...

You Have to Have Five.






" We say Our Prayers. 
Then we write Our News. 
We read in the book corner. 
We measure and We weigh. 
We buy things at the shop. 
We have Our milk. 
We play in the playing ground. 
We dance and... "
[breaks down crying with pure joy]




[Tommy's cupboard]

(Tommy is still reading aloud.

"Intelligence as a concept :
 The simplistic notion that the intelligence quotient ...

(He looks the new word up in a dictionary.) 

" Quotient : Result given by dividing one quantity by another. "

It's no use. 

I don't understand the words. 

I'll have to ask someone what's happened to me. 

Yates - He's my friend, I think. 
I'll ask Mister Yates..!



(Tommy opens the door.

BARNES [OC]: 
Moss may be in the garden, if he hasn't run away altogether, of course. 

MIKE [OC]: 
But we'll meet in the cellar. 

BARNES [OC]: 
Yes, I suppose so. The sooner we get on with it, the better. 
I haven't had a moment's peace since Lupton disappeared. 

MIKE [OC]: 
Ten minutes. 

BARNES [OC]: 
If I can find them, of course.



(Tommy thinks over what he has heard.)

BARNES [OC]: 
I haven't had a moment's peace since Lupton disappeared. 

MIKE [OC]: 
But we'll meet in the cellar. 
We'll meet in the cellar. 
In the cellar. 
In the cellar. 
In the cellar. 
In the cellar. 
In the cellar. 

TOMMY: 
Cellar? 

SARAH [OC]: 
Lupton has gone down to the cellar. 
Lupton has gone down to the cellar. 
Lupton has gone down to the cellar. 
Lupton has gone down. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 
Lupton. 

TOMMY: 
Lupton. Clever Lupton! 

(Tommy remembers Lupton appearing out of thin air.) 

CONTRARY TO NATURAL LAW

TOMMY: 
Clever Lupton....

(Tommy gets the crystal from his shoe box.

TOMMY: 
Cho-Je. I'll ask Cho-Je. 

(He hides the crystal in an empty first aid box.)






(Mike is sitting up and trying to free his hands when Barnes enters. Mike says something through the gag so Barnes removes it.

BARNES: 
Well? 

MIKE: 
What are you going to do? 

BARNES: 
Do? 

MIKE: 
About Lupton. I told you, I overheard you talking. 

BARNES: 
There's nothing we can do. Just got to wait for him and keep you here until he comes back. 

MIKE: 
But as you said yourselves, he may not be able to. 

BARNES: 
I know. As I said, there's nothing we can do. 

MIKE: 
Of course there is. Re-establish the link, the contact. 

BARNES: 
You mean with the mandala and the ceremony? 

MIKE:
He's probably waiting for you to do just that. 

BARNES: 
There are only four of us. You have to have five. 

MIKE: 
I'll help. 

BARNES: 
You? Why should you help? 

MIKE: 
Because of Sarah Jane Smith, of course. 

I want her back just as much as you want Lupton. 

BARNES: 
Yes, yes, of course. 
But how do I know it's not just some sort of trick? 

MIKE: 
Oh, for Pete's sake. Of course it isn't! Come on, untie me.





K'ANPO: 
His Compassion protected him, just as Tommy's Innocence was his shield. 

Wednesday 3 January 2018

The Ghost of a Flea




John Varley – an artist, astrologer and close friend of Blake – reported in his Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy (1828) that Blake once had a spiritual vision of a ghost of a flea and that 

‘This spirit visited his imagination in such a figure as he never anticipated in an insect.’ 

While drawing the spirit it told the artist that all fleas were inhabited by the souls of men who were 

‘by nature bloodthirsty to excess’.

 In the painting it holds a cup for blood-drinking and stares eagerly towards it. Blake’s amalgamation of man and beast suggests a human character marred by animalistic traits.

William Blake (1757‑1827)





PEX LIVES



X

PEX LIVES

TIME'S CHAMPION :
We must move on to the main problem. 
How to persuade Kroagnon to leave his safety and come to a place of our choosing where we can trap and defeat him. 

DEPUTY: 
He'll never leave there until we're all wiped out. 
We'll never manage to break in. 
I should know that. 


TIME'S CHAMPION :
Well, there is a way that might just work. 

FIRE ESCAPE: 
What's that, Doctor? 

TIME'S CHAMPION :
Well, you see, Kroagnon is undoubtedly a very clever and very proud being, and like many clever and proud beings likes to be appreciated by his equals. 
Now, I think if he had the chance to meet such a person, he would leave his lair to do so. 

MEL: 
Doctor, you're not going to go and 


TIME'S CHAMPION : 
I've no choice, Mel. I mean, in all honesty, I am the only obvious candidate. 

MEL: 
You'll go out there and show yourself and be killed. 


TIME'S CHAMPION : 
Oh no, no, no. That would be extremely futile. 
I will allow myself to be seen, and then somebody will go to Kroagnon and offer to lead him to me. 
Right into our little trap. 
Now, that person has a far more difficult and dangerous mission than I. 

(Silence.) 

PEX: 
I will go to Kroagnon. I am Pex and I am the 

FIRE ESCAPE: 
Cowardly cutlet. 

JUDAS: 
Well you all have tasks to do. Caretakers, Residents, Kangs, why should only Pex be left out? 
Pex the trained fighting machine. Pex the only... 

BIN LINER: 
Scaredy cat. 

MEL: 
Pex, are you sure you want to do this? 


JUDAS : 
Yes, I am.


TIME'S CHAMPION : 
So be it.


What if an ancient gospel was rediscovered that offered a radically different perspective on a man that history has painted as the ultimate villain? 

What if this account turned Jesus' betrayal on its head, and in it the villain became a hero? 

National Geographic provides exclusive access to the documents and evidence that traces the incredible story of what has happened to the Gospel of Judas since it was found. Combining dramatic recreations and insightful analysis by the world's foremost experts, they ask and answer the question: 

Is the Gospel of Judas real? 

Saturday 30 December 2017

"I Don't Dream at All"



"I’ve come across people that have no imaginations at all, and it’s a very interesting… .

I was shocked the first time I came across it. 

And — because I just assumed everybody had an imagination.

And when you — you confront somebody who doesn’t, especially a child, it’s a very interesting and profound thing to me. 

It — an imagination is a — is a trait, you know. 

It’s like anything else. It’s a — it’s a — it’s a talent, or it’s an ability you have to cope. 

Like Dreaming."

- George Lucas


David: 
It must feel like your God abandoned you.

Dr. Elizabeth Shaw: 
What..?

David: 
To lose Dr. Holloway after your father died under such similar circumstances. 

What was it that killed him? Ebola?


Dr. Elizabeth Shaw: 
How do you...? 
How do you know that?

David: 
I watched your dreams.



Kane :
Some awful dream about.... 
Smothering..?


Newt:
Can I dream?

Ripley :
Yes, honey. 
I think we both can. 
Sleep tight.

Newt :
Affirmative.


While she is unconscious in the prison's medical bay, Ripley has a nightmare about being stalked through the Sulaco's hypersleep chamber by a Xenomorph. The Creature grabs her from behind and pins her to the top of Hicks' cryotube, and actually rapes her as the Corporal grins at her through the glass.




"I was in cryo, right? On my way to Xarem, right? Work crew for the nickel refinery, right? I wake up... I know, I don't understand. Oh God, I... I saw... I saw horrible things."


―Purvis (from Alien Resurrection)