Thursday, October 15, 2009

Notes from My Notebook

I headed to the (very small) local library last night with my notebook and stood by the shelf where the spiritual books are. There was a book that had "Green" in the title and it caught my attention due to the vision I had the other day regarding the Green Prophecy. I grabbed the book and looked through it but nothing really grabbed my attention. However, as I was putting the book back I saw beneath it a book that I currently have on my iPod but have not listened to yet - "Don't Know Much About Mythology". Considering it was next on my list of books to listen to I thought it would be interesting to skim through the book so I took it with me to a table and looked through the pages. I found some quotes that I thought are worth mentioning here:
It is an old story
But one that can still be told
About a man who loved
And lost a friend to death.
And learned he lacked the power
To bring him back to life.
~Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative, Translated by Herbert Mason

I have read Gilgamesh, though it's been over nine years ago. While I know this verse pertains to the story itself it also reminded me of someone trying to breathe life back into an old friendship in order to renew it but not having any luck.

Another clipping from the same book:

"All men have need of the gods...."
~The Odyssey by Homer

The above quote came at an important time for me as I had once again been examining the similarities between spirituality and psychology.

Lastly, a paragraph from the book that I liked as it spoke of the inclination of most people today to be unaware of the unseen around them:

One of the reasons why religion seems irrelevant today is that many of us no longer have the sense that we are surrounded by the unseen. Our scientific culture educates us to focus our attention on the physical and material world in front of us. This method of looking at the world has achieved great results. One of the consequences, however, is that we have... edited out the sense of the "spiritual" or "holy" which pervades the lives of people in more traditional societies at every level and which was once an essential component of our human experience of the world.
~Karen Armstrong, A History of God (1993)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if "traditional societies" really have/had more awareness of the unseen or just more superstition. In any case it does seem true that our current society could benefit from more awareness of both the unseen and the seen.

V said...

All men have need of the gods of wisdom, love, peace, power, etc. All gods are children of the god Chronus and his father Uranus.

V said...

Chronus the god of time is the destroyer of ignorance.

V said...

"And there was no more fear of heaven or hell. Only fear of the destruction of their planet and the Universe."

The Gospel according to the true green prophet, who is not jewish, christian, muslim, hindu, buddhist or pagan.

V said...

"And there were no more messiahs, boddhisattvas, and poets. Only surfers, downloaders, googlers, twitterers, and facebookers."

Anonymous said...

Wondering why from the entire mentioned book..y u have chosen these quotes?

I dont think so, "religion seems irrelevant today " see what is happening in my country!
suicide bomb blasts and drone attacks and still the world is silent. Because they are living for their religions and don't want us to live according to our religions in peace. I live in an uncertain world where terrorists can kill me anytime anywhere and I am helpless. You know, terrorists have no religion, dont call them Islamic extremists!

Sophia said...

Mossy, maybe people sense the unseen but create superstitions to explain it away.

Sophia said...

V,

Time does have a way of alleviating symptoms of ignorance. Is this what it is to grow up?

By the way, I'm working on that Green Prophecy vision I had. I'm getting closer to the solution. I will know by tomorrow, I think.

Sophia said...

Hi Mania,

I didn't really choose those quotes. They chose me. :) (Sometimes I like to grab books and flip to a random page to see what it says to me.)

Thank you for giving me your first person perspective of terrorism in your country. I am glad for the new description because, yes, I have always heard that the terrorists are Islamic extremists, but your wise words will alleviate my ignorance now. You said it all when you said, "Terrorists have no religion."

Terrorists have the worst form of spiritual ignorance, but those that blame one religion or another also suffer from an ignorance of their own. May the world one day be fully relieved of all forms of ignorance so that we may all experience the peace that is there waiting for us.

Anonymous said...

I didn't intend to post my previous comment. It just happened all of a sudden. May be its my reaction on so many blasts that hit my country this October.

see this,

Nineteen days of bloodshed in Pakistan

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-nineteen-days-of-bloodshed-in-pakistan-ss-01

But most important attack was on Islamic University that leads to the closure of all the education institutions in Pakistan for a week due to security concerns.

Just think, if these terrorists are real muslims then why they are killing their fellow muslims for no reason?

Sophia said...

Hi Mania,

No regrets! I hope you can always feel free to be open on my blog. You have every right to feel passionately about the devastation that is occurring in your country at the hands of terrorists. I would feel the same way were I in the same situation. I am very saddened that anyone in our world would want to kill a fellow human. It is during times like these that I dream the most of a future Utopia of love.

Sophia said...

P.S. Mania,

I read the article you showed me. It almost moved me to tears. These people show complete disregard for even the children that are in the area. Only a terribly evil person could commit such an act.