Symbols, Myth and Meaning

J.J Artemis
3 AUDIOBOOK COLLECTIONS

6 BOOK COLLECTIONS
Section 1: A Practical Approach to Existence
Introduction

Ryokan by Koshi no Sengai (1895-1958), from Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf. (1)

The thief left it behind:

the moon
at my window.
- Ryōkan
In life we are faced with many obstacles; in events and occurrences , most of which simply occur to us and
make us feel that we have no choice in the matter, that the cosmos simply throws obstacles our way , one
after another, but we have no recourse to it. Life is absurd to be certain, but there is a common thread
among everything that occurs in ones perception; the ability to adjust our view of existence. This comes
from understanding that everything occurring in one's life is either; in our control, not within our control or
within our sphere of influence.

If something cannot be controlled, it is not unfair, life was never created to operate in a manner that followed
any rules. What one can do when confronted with an event out of our control is to understand this mentally
and cease troubling ourselves over the occurrence, simply see it clearly for what it is.

If something can be controlled or is within our sphere of influence , then it is in our duty to exert what
influence is within our power to attempt at coming to a satisfactory conclusion, with the understanding that it
may not work out as we expect; but then that it would be simply so; if one gives all the effort and attention
that was possible at the time, it could not have gone any other way.

“It’s time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that
affect you and mak e you dance lik e a puppet.” – Marcus Aurelius

Understanding this one operates in a state of natural control, Wu Wei, actionless action. One comes to a
point where one does not operate with Wei, with effort or doing, but optimizes the course of events via the
most effective action, which is to be actionless in response to our initial impression of events . In this
manner one lives life Wei Wu Wei, the inaction committed by understanding on a fundamental level what is
in ones sphere of control and influence. In this state of learned natural mind, comes a beautiful clarity in
perspective, a person stops grasping at every angry notion or anxious worry which grows from the mind into
conscious attention, but simply observes the thoughts and acts on what is in one's control and influence , a
flowing state of Wu Wei, simply doing what one can and observing with conscious understanding everything
else.

Not having power is not the same as being powerless, you still control that which cannot be disturbed,
should you cherish it; your conscious perception: your reaction to the material that is exposed presenting
itself as existence. Through conscious effort we create and thus can destroy what is considered
insurmountable, then it becomes just what is so, and left then is a rational being who figures a way to
transverse what is placed before him, by removing emotions out of the equation and observing the reality
that is before them. Not adding emotions, feelings and preconceived notions of how things should be, one
become more adept at dealing with things how they are, and will do better at putting them to where one
want them to be.
“External think s are not the problem. It’s your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now.” –
Marcus Aurelius

There comes a fear from persons who have their entire life given power to their emotions; those that cling
and claw at any emotion from which they feel is formed their essence. From this comes another problem:
the idea of who you are is also an illusion, one selects moments and inclinations that one was inclined to for
no particular reason at one point and creates a character they feel is who they are, but to do so and to really
believe that is 'you', is simply not true. We only live in the present, the past only viewed as a memory and
the future as a prediction of observed cosmic patterns, you are not a solid unchangeable character, every
moment one experiences spontaneous life and it is from what we choose to do to affect our present, which
is in our domain, that forms who we are.

You must to some extent act on your own, and release yourself from the grasping constraints of your past
and any illusions from which you are acting. Accept your past, don't live in it, accept your thoughts, don't
cling to them, accept your desires, don't see evil from a lack of realizing them, trust yourself and who you
see in your reflection, it is you, in the now, the mind and body as one structure to the environment,
experiencing the void , just so.

The concepts of Ego, ID, Superego, are all concepts that are created from that which is you. To attach
yourself to these concepts is to attach yourself to foolishness, one that attempts to know themselves from
the creation of illusions will only know the illusions.

If the freudian concepts of the mind are used with the understanding that they are not real, but illusions of
the mind; they are harmless, and similar to other illusions useful to a certain degree, but if you attach
yourself to these concepts and make them real in your mind, you are bringing yourself into a state of
confusion and torment. It is nonsensical to think of yourself other than oneness. This being said the very
attempt to clear your mind with your mind is like wiping off blood with blood, it stains the material further,
instead it is simply better to allow what will manifest to manifest, but not to grasp and cling, which is not
possible as these concepts have no truth in reality, but certainly the conflict in attempting to conjure them
will harm you.
In confrontation with conflict

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Vik tor Frank l

It is the small moments that determines how the world interacts with you. If one day you come home to find
a precious item stolen, how would you react?

Initially; Anger, Fear and Confusion would be the normal human reactions, and why should one suppress
themselves on what occurs spontaneously?

It is from these natural inclinations that one considers the event in terms of reality, this is where you could
consider the spheres of control that are available to you; rather than harming yourself with the human ability
to magnify negative emotions. It would be best to consider that the thief committed an action which they
thought justified stealing your property. It is more likely that they are misled beings warped by illogical
ideology and absent in thought of virtue, such persons are to be pitied rather than to be vilified. In
approaching this event you would be best to consider;

What is in my control: my reaction; my actions to what I can influence and control

What is not in my control: my initial feelings, the event, anything I cannot influence the result of

Even if you maximize your attempt to “best” a situation, nothing is guaranteed, the universe was never
explicitly created for the triumph of virtuous beings, this is a never ending game.

It's all good and easy to preach this type of mindset, showing how anything else simply causes the being
who engages in the action unnecessary pain and confusion, that being said humans are creatures of habit.
It is with this gift that one who reflects and engages in this stoic inspired worldview on practicality will
experience a great change in their mental functioning and to a degree who they are as beings. It can be
recommended for persons to take some time everyday, as a habit, perhaps during a time something is done
for certain ; after a lunch meal. To reflect and meditate on your day, and ability to optimally engage with
events . Eventually such reflections will be ingrained into your being and a soothing mindless concentration
will ensue.
Viewing practical existence

People often distinguish themselves from others in strong contrasts, either being introverts or extroverts,
persons who are inclined towards individualism and those inclined for a harmonious community which
speaks as one. What should perhaps be considered that the optimal way of existence is somewhere
between both poles. In living ones life in a community we should live as individuals who understand the
benefit that we enjoy from being a part of society, thus placing the value of the individual at a high regard, but
with a similar view for attempting our best at bettering humanity, as it is from our collaborative actions that
anything of significance is achieved societally.

Everything I have said deals quite nicely with how to deal with our perceptions but how does one
confront an obstacle/enemy with the stoic inspired philosophy?

The answer as I see it is to simply live your life following what moral convictions you have obtained using
logic and reasoning to avoid biases, and in acting with humanity over ideology as a framework of desired
outcomes, to simply live. The opposition that you wish to contend with will confront you, and what is left is
to understand what you can influence and what is out of your control, and to exert maximum effort in that
which is in your domain, and leave the rest to the wind for you have no quarrel with it.

Perspective should be used in contact with any event in life. It helps to stop looking at events in isolation
and remember that the event is simply that and to address what is in our control. It helps to context and
remove the importance of the micro in light of the macro and allows us to see rationally what steps might be
taken for an optimal outcome. The most harm one can do is try to change things that are not under our
control or influence.

Using perception to overcome your initial emotion can help you see the opportunity in any obstacle, even a
loss can be used as a moment to learn and gather from defeat, but this can only come if you look
objectively with a recognition of all your possible choices in any situation.

The real enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing the opportunity in obstacles. What must
come is decisive action after removing emotions, and initial inclinations on events. One must play most
thoughtfully with what little cards she is dealt. If we value the goal more than the obstacle, then all that is left
is action.

In the most tremendous of tasks, the success comes from attacking with full intensity what is in the present
and confrontable. In doing this one leads themselves to over time attacking the full problem in a manner that
is most effective.Unachievable; if the sight is not set to the micro , understanding that is how one will
overcome the macro. Bad things will happen, not everything will succeed, but nothing can stop us from
trying. Problems are a chance for us to do our best, no matter how much one tries some things may not
come to pass, but we have a chance to give every ounce of human energy to its fulfillment.
What is wisdom?

Wisdom is something one constantly strives towards. A property of wisdom that has practical
use to us, is the general stoic foundation of practical virtues;

The first virtue is Prudence or practical wisdom; a knowledge of things that are good , bad or
neither. The ability to use reason in directing oneself.

The second virtue is Fortitude or courage; the ability to act and keep true to one's moral
foundations, to greet conflict with harmony.

The third virtue is Justice; in Justice one recognizes the being who has the potential for
transcendance, to treat others in recognition of their sentiance.

The fourth virtue is Temperance; this is actionless action, to have a clear and rational
understanding of the world to such an extent, that one does or does not do actions in recognition
of the totality of wisdom that one possesses.

The fifth virtue is Faith; Faith is understanding that with our limited ability to understand
everything, we construct imaginations from which we believe we can understand the world, but
that the cosmos is a beautiful pattern of spontaneous action with bursts of repetition. To this one
should construct a reality that aligns with all comprehensible truths, in order to prevent the harm
caused by one who attempts to disconnect from the cosmos.

I must confess my hesitation on including a basic collection of virtues in my modern

interpretation of stoic inspired thought, there are many philosophers who have spent their lives
either working on the perfection of such systems to whom I do injustice, and to further
importance, most people do not care about, or will remember any of the
aforementioned.Nevertheless I have opted to include it as perhaps it may bring some person
value in recollection, or serve as a reminder for further investigations.
What is evil?

“I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a
nature related to my own—not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of
the divine.” - Marcus Aurelius

Evil points to someone who has the ability to act but does so lacking the characteristics of virtue. It is in my
observance that most persons do not do evil on purpose. They have some information from which they
believe their moral code is correct, and honest, and from this commit what we consider Evil acts.

Some persons do act with Evil intents, these people are not lacking in wisdom but choose to ignore it in
choice of harming themselves, and other human beings, though this rarely occurs. So how do we confront
persons who we consider to be Evil. To be lacking in virtue, or correct logical conclusions on existence?
The way is to understand Yin and Yang.

This is the Yin-ya ng symbol or Ta ijitu ( 太極圖 ), with b lack representing yin and white representing yang. It is a symb ol that
reflects the inescapab ly intertwined duality of all things in nature, a common theme in Taoism. (2)

This is the philosophy of unity, we cannot be simply good without evil and evil without any good. In fact
anyone who wishes to do the greatest evils must incorporate the good to achieve this outcome, and just as,
those who wish to do the greatest good must incorporate the evil; the Jungian inspired shadow. The point
being that when one approaches another who we perceive to be evil, it should be understood that they are
acting, probably, in what they consider to be good faith, and to approach the other with attitude of 'honor
among thieves' , to communicate your standards of virtue and understand that to the other; we are just as
evil for not following in their path. To make what concessions are possible with this understanding.

Failing to convince the enemy one can simply do what one can, maintain virtue and truth to oneself, and not
break one's convictions regardless of the repercussions.
Purpose and Action

“Our actions may be impeded, but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can
accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The
impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” - Marcus Aurelius

‘What is your purpose?’ is something which is throttled onto children by parents who don't have
any idea what it is they are aiming towards. This call to the absurdity of existence is not really a
question but a topic of discussion. The human is not a cause and effect, a being is not
something which sets about on a journey to a single destination from which it’s game over. We
are beings who operate with limited knowledge, limited vision and limited understanding of the
cosmos, one could almost consider it a miracle we are able to do anything considering the
human method of arriving at an unknown destination.
The reality is we don't have any clue whatsoever where we are going and what we wish to achieve. When we
take 3 steps forward the fog clears, it's clear as the sky we should have gone left instead of right. The result
not being to not take a step recognizing the infinite, but to take a step and expect to be wrong, to know
that we can't know everything, but we can adjust our position; take a look around and head a direction that
seems to be the right way to go, but to do so living in the present, for that is all there is and if you can't
enjoy the journey to where you believe you wish to head toward. Then perhaps consider if the destination is
worth attending, if the game is worth the candle.

What of the candle when the game becomes too painful to play? To this why should death be something to
be feared, rather than simply a moment in your life, a moment in your existence as a pattern of
happenstance which played before your growing into the human body, and that spontaneous pattern which
you are a part of, that will continue after death. One should marvel at the whole spontaneous happening
rather than to view existence as miserable and without control, from our sentiance the universe is
experienced.

If one rejects the observations of beauty in the cosmos than to them there is still nothing to fear, why worry
about death if it only appears after you are gone? Why worry about a god when there are 500 others waiting
in earnest to judge your misdeeds. Indeed, there are many excuses made by persons who refuse to give up
fear and view death with a terrible dread.

“Remember that the door is open. Don’t be more cowardly than children, but just as they say, when the
game is no longer fun for them, ‘I won’t play any more,’ you too, when things seem that way to you, say, ‘I
won’t play any more,’ and leave, but if you remain, don’t complain.” (Discourses I.24.20)

If life is simply too painful to exist, if one cannot possibly bear their burden, then what shame is there in
simply letting go, in fact to do so with one's friends and family is a beautiful experience to the individual. The
possibility of always leaving the room if the smoke is too much to bear, is something that cannot be taken
from human beings. We have the ability to suffer and endure, but with this we also have the choice to suffer
and endure. This is a courageous decision made, and if one cannot go further, then they will go on another
way.
Our perception and natural inclination

Most humans do not do evil knowingly, we are born limited beings, we have the ability to perceive certain
things, using our body to interact with the world around us, but what we don't have is the ability to see that
which we cannot sense. If one acknowledges that humans utilize mechanisms such as telescopes or audio
devices to magnify the senses, or technology to view radio waves which are invisible to the human; it is easy
to concede that we can’t absolutely know everything and due to our limited perception, it is difficult to know
what we don't know.

In nature to the reality for a human to not absolutely comprehend everything, as we don’t have complete
information, in some sense or another faith is utilized by all. We have faith that our perception of reality is
correct. The scientists don't actually deny this, but argue that the faith made from information utilizing
scientific methods, to know as much as we can about the natural world, is superior to faith made on
unfounded assumptions.

This is true, a follower of most religious faiths has no direct connection to an omniscient being, and given
that there are hundreds of religions with similar texts, all claiming to be the true deity one must worship.
The absolute rejection of logic required to fall into blind faith requires much devotion and reflection indeed.

Perhaps we should allow our minds, which have in the popular modern times been stolen by one side or the
other, to have a moment to consider why it is we place such rigidity in our understanding of the cosmos. The
very words and expressions that are utilized by humans are simply logical abstractions, but what guarantee
is there that this logic operates 2 galaxies over? The way we form words and numbers, the methods we
utilize to divide the universe have been very useful to us. They have helped to: innovate, think logically and
with extreme abstraction, but they have also taken something from us, that is the understanding of the unity
that the cosmos embodies, and in this unity is a real practical beauty if one takes a moment to look for it.

Events occur with a spontaneous nature, from the mutations that formed the replicator from which evolved
life itself, to the billions of asteroids travelling through the galaxy with no purpose in mind. To this
spontaneous nature there is also a steady pattern of the cosmos, a repetition that occurs; from the orbit of
the earth to the concentration of gravity, some occurrences seem to have repetition to them. In fact from
these small repetitions is formed much of scientific knowledge of the cosmos.

To claim DHARMA: a doctrine which is has an indisputable claim to reality, is to turn away from nature, the
undivided universe in which one can simply see the transcendence of the individual; to place humanity over
ideology, and turn to human constructed ideals and moral structures, which in my observation of humans
will never be the same. As discussed people are usually not misled on purpose. What then occurs is that
these people who operate behind a collective, pick up the mask of the collective ideology and place the
individual in chains. From behind the mask then they engage in actions in which they destroy themselves,
and everything sacred to humanity.
The Jungian cry for the assimilation of the shadow was in recognition of this, that those who could sit
together as criminals , in recognition of the evil which forms all of us, humans would still; kill, rape and steal
from one another, but then they would not go further. They would not destroy cities with a click of their
fingers. Humans may be vile, but an individual who is not operating behind the mask of a collective ideology
would have no reason to destroy everything. A real individual has the ability to look at the enemy, with her
eyes, rather than butcher everyone in her path with eyes transfixed to a false transcendance.
Section 2: Utilizing symbolic representation to interact with important issues of
existence

No life is the same, but just as the cosmos is not exact, there are patterns which repeat over and over
through the lives of many people, regardless to colour or creed. These patterns are understood by wise men,
who utilize these recurring stages in the life of a human being, to help the society around them. Most of
these messages are hidden, shrouded in art and mysticism. The reasoning for this cloaking of knowledge is
twofold; First: most of human history is marked with the blind destruction committed by followers of a
collective ideology, or religion. Any outright distribution of offensive wisdom would likely be met with violence
and destruction of the information. Second: humans are curious creatures, one of the best ways to teach a
child is to do so via a game, the complexities and patterns contained in art and literature are simply a
playful game, created by the united wisdom from thousands of men and women before us, should we be
willing to play.
This small diagram(above) created represents a phase of development in a human being, a pattern that will
be of use to consider in our investigation. I should add if not considered, one may be, or start at any phase
of the pattern and not all patterns are universal. This is simply one common repetition that occurs over a
humans life:

1. We start the journey with an idleness, this is the part of life, when you do not know you have a problem to
contend with, or are not sure what may be in store. In this stage one can think of themselves laying on the
ocean, just floating idly.

2. Here we are encountered with something that brings one to attention, some issue comes up in life. As
one floats idly perhaps the weightlessness and calm ocean is interrupted by the cries of a seagull, you
recognize this foreign thing which disturbs you, and from which you become more real.

3. Encountering some difficulty initially one is unaware how to deal with the problem, but with what they
know, one throws all human efforts of will and imagination, one begins to swim, now disturbed, unable to
float as before.

4. Initially what occurs is failure, the reasons for this initial failure of a human in any endeavour to correctly
face an issue are too many to number. One simply does not have the knowledge at the outset of
encountering the unknown to most effectively deal with it. One swims into water that now has the ability to
move, and as you have only ever floated, how can you expect to swim in such an environment? You drown,
sometimes slowly, sometimes with a quickness, but the ocean brings you under and your innocent naive
self dies.

5. One enters the underworld, here one is in hell, the lowest most miserable place that a human can be, but
if one takes a moment , ignoring the sharks and beasts of the deep which itch and claw away at you. It can
be seen that it is at this lowest of places where one is closest to god, to the universal patterns of humanity,
to truth and wisdom.

6. The pit where one is cast into becomes your redeemer as you are intertwined with it. Pain and suffering,
your redeemer, forces you to face truth. In transcendance one rises, a farewell to the soul that died in that
place. The artwork and mythology of this redemption can be found in most religions and children books
alike, to one degree or another.

7. Here one reaches a departure from hell, and now transcended has the ability to annihilate that which
once destroyed them, you now have a submarine and nap while you make your way, but this is not an
"end", for there is never an end. This is simply the waiting period before your encounter with THE SIBERIAN
ITCH, or a typhoon if it suits you better, and once again you are disturbed.
- Gustave Doré's illustration to Dante's Inferno (1857) - (3)
I can only speak from the present and allude to the past as I can't help but to be biased in my reflections. It
seems to me that the current state of technological progress and advances in all fields have sped up to such
a whirl that it is hard to fathom what may come in the next 10 years, I know, I know I am simple, I have
heard these musings myself from every other human who has made similar observations... perhaps for the
last 100 years!

Still, I maintain that we have developed to such an extent that in modern times many people have the luxury
of being able to live in relative comfort and simulation with little to no effort. The majority of the work that was
once done by humans now simply handed over to machines. Which in the year of 2018, have the ability to
make simple human calculations and decisions, never tire and ‘think’ quicker. The advances of A.I
technology surely will be something which will either destroy us, or being the leaping board for humanity's
great years to come.

It has become easier than ever for youth to be both genius, with the modern collection of worldwide
intelligence accessible to any person, and at the same time to be utterly lost as how to go about engaging
with the world in a beneficial manner. It is amazing how both absolute poverty and excess go hand in hand.
It is in my understanding of these reflections that the modern youth in the year of 2018, should allow
themselves to be awoken from the self induced trance of unbenifical entertainment, a gluttony willingly
engaged in as the value of the individual is for the first time in human history at the highest regard, in most
societies, which naturally creates an upset and confusion among the population, as recent traditional
knowledge at the surface level does not seem to point how one transverses these modern obstacles. As I
will endeavour to explain, it is in my understanding that the most primitive knowledge is intertwined with
hidden wisdom, which is of infinite value to us, especially in such important times for humanity.

As explained previously, the idea of a " purpose " , similar to the idea of " god ", is not something to strive to
understand or even to get to; the reality is that how humans are inclined to function is not to seek an
ultimate goal and simply reach it. Consider the absolute absurdity of it all, we humans are narrow minded ,
target oriented creatures, this is the natural understanding, how then can one simply reach a target? We are
not missiles who explode upon contact with becoming a rocket scientist(example), only that some
knowledge is acquired and there you stand donned in your rocket scientist hat. A purpose is not somewhere
to get to, just as one can really only understand "god" if one throws away all notions, scripts and ideas
(belief).

How then should we approach goals? As we understand we don't really have any idea what we want truly, for
the human mind is fickle, and with our limited senses there is only so much we understand, so what is the
best way to approach the setting of some plan?
First we should consider some illusions that commonly beset the human mind. First is the illusion that one
can simply do whatever she pleases, in terms of disregarding virtues and intelligently engaging in evil,
simply because one is not dissuaded by the common human arguments of individual responsibility, ethics or
anything of that sort. What one needs to understand is that nothing evil can be done without punishment.

The more intelligent one is, the greater one devises ingenious methods to punish themselves, or find
themselves in circumstances that one could be certain a divine force was playing the most ingenious tricks
on them. In common media of the 21st century this pattern which seems to repeat itself with consistency is
quite evident, most villains in movies, especially in light of their genius, find amazing methods of destroying
and causing maximal pain to their being.

Magic lords such as Voldemort, who rips himself apart and leaves clues so that he may be destroyed and
punished in the most gruesome manner possible, is similar to Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment by
Dostoevsky. We pay the price for upsetting what is a pattern of the cosmos. Good and evil are one and of
the same, the human experience is found in an attempt to optimize the good as best as we can make of it.
Those who warp this reality and see fit to optimize evil, will find themselves in the most terrible of
circumstances, an unendurable pain as one attempts to separate from themselves, one where
SIBERIA(gulag) is a welcome hell to the purgatory they find themselves in.

The Second illusion which may be unknowingly used in constructing a destination which one hopes to
reach, is to be under the impression that if one could enjoy every carnal and cerebral pleasure that can be
imagined, for infinity, that would be an amazing place to be. Somewhere worth setting off to and working
toward. What can be understood with reflection to the ancient collective wisdom is that nobody really would
enjoy this eternal bliss, you would soon see this beggar who prayed to go to heaven; to eat the richest food
and be with the most beautiful of women, running around seeing how he could destroy and create some
chaos in this palace of bliss. The reason being that; happiness, fulfillment, contentment or anything of that
regard as an end goal, is riddled with a blind eye to the wholeness of the cosmos: there can be no
contentment unless one is in contention with something. It is from these very contrasts that the notion of
pleasure is even formed.
 - Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest heavens;Gustave Doré's illustrations to the Divine Comedy (1892) -
(4)
I could pretend to be wise and tell you i'll stop here for brevity's sake, but in truth I am quite limited in my
understanding of the cosmos, and am sure I only have some surface idea of everything ( of anything?). For
how can I know that which is imperceptible? But to have faith and operate with what I can understand, brings
some relief to me.

So how should one proceed in setting out to existence. Well you have to make some sort of base you
operate from; everything which you understand and believe to be a known truth,and in the light of knowing
that you can't really know anything, gives us the best way forth, with complete and true honesty. We often
lie to ourselves, knowingly, and do things which we know are not good for us in the present, and will not be
beneficial for us in the future. A most amusing and tragic human experience ( and i am the more tragic for
finding amusement, I know).

The optimal method then of pursuing a target , or an honest life, is to make aims in agreement with the
future-now ( your present perception of the future) , one that will work for you then, and will work for you now.
For you are always in the now ( the eternal present) , and for something to work in future-now but not be in
alignment with the present-now, certainly will not succeed.

As you travel along the path you are exposed to people and things which change you, improve you if you
pursue truth, or remove (modify, as removal can include addition) from you if you allow yourself to follow a
wrong ideal. From this you must reaffirm your aim, like an archer, to ensure you will reach that which you
pursue, and if you miss the aim, one of two things will occur. If you miss the aim for honesty and truth in life
, knowingly, then you will descend into hell, for you have attempted to warp the consistent pattern of the
cosmos , that the pursuit of truth will lead to good. If you miss the aim of honesty and truth in life,
unknowingly, then you will descend into hell, but should you analyze your actions and existence
periodically, it will become evident you are not all that you could be, and for this honest person, there can be
an adjustment of aim, to reorient themselves to a good.

In confrontation with evil , with injustice and undeserved (aside from absurdity of existence) wrong, one
should look to themselves , if no enemy presents themselves with weapon in hand, to see why these events
have occured. What transgression against the framework of being was committed, either by yourself or
those in your proximity, and to adjust in alignment with truth. This requires understanding the realness of
your evil and your abilities ( Jungian shadow inspired) , yet to understand the broader power of the good and
to bring the world, the one immediately surrounding you, back into cohesion with that reality, to observe the
universal constants and see the way to any purpose in existence is to live in an attempt, from which one
attempts to better humanity.

If you do not understand your ability to commit the most vile of acts, you will not be able to wield that very
strength for the greatest of goods, it is the ones who understand their dark nature, that have the ability to
become an angel that can save themselves, their family, their friends and humanity.
On the Path

- An angel leading a soul into hell. Oil painting b y a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. - (5)

How one proceeds in life initially is the same for individuals regardless of circumstances; to orient yourself
to the clearest truth, independently reasoned and in alignment with virtue, and to proceed forward. Its true
that nothing is given equally to humans, or rather the universal constant is not one of equality, not that
anything has to be given..... but unequally just is, in terms of; intelligence, wisdom, mental characteristics,
emotional attributes and the physical body.

We may observe an individual who is beset with the SIBERIAN ITCH, living in absolute poverty and
struggling to acquire the basic necessities of life , how could this individual better his existence, to redeem
what shred of dignity is possessed and achieve something that makes it "worth the while." For the individual
who is invalid to the being who is simply confused as how to proceed in existence, the answer lies in
sacrifice. A pure act in which one commits themselves to the point, or to the purpose of killing themselves,
to arise transcendant to that struggle which conflicted them.
This is a very archaic notion, found throughout art and texts of various religions, that one who wishes to
reach divinity, must sacrifice that which is most precious to them. If it is most dear to you, then perhaps the
more necessary! And to this sacrifice should be no expectation, but to align oneself with living life in truth
with faith, to orient toward the good. To those who live their lives in this manner, without artificially doing so
in expectation or demand for a return, to them all will be given.

- The Sacrifice of Isaac b y Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674) - (6)

A relevant biblical text to this point; Genesis 22:1-19

" But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I
am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I k now that you fear God,
seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

"And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have
sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will
surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on
the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his[d] enemies, and in your offspring shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

If one is unwilling to sacrifice, unwilling to observe they are the closest one can be to hell, to them is given
the advice; if you do not have the will to sacrifice and orient yourself to bettering humanity, what actions can
be taken that will not drive you further into destruction? For if one is truly incapable of redemption, as
beings who with intelligence work to mislead and destroy individuals, then what is there to be done but be
ever so vigilant in all manner to prevent further straying from the love of humanity, for it will become clear to
these "irredeemable" persons, that there will come a time, sure as the cosmic patterns continue, that you
will again be given a choice, to either spite existence and the cosmic patterns by abusing sentiance,
including yourself, or to do a small good, ever so tiny, but one in which you contribute to the betterment of
humanity.

"The wick ed suffer in prosperity. Those with nothing but an honest life k now that they are living in alignment
with the universe, they feel it in everything that they do, and will rejoice in the most desperate of
conditions."
- Friedrich Justin Bertuch, 1806 - (7)

Observe the significance of the phoenix representation, the illumination that is behind the individual
(metaphorically as in the above depiction) as on a seperate plain yet connected in the most direct sense.
This represents the power of the being. The transcendence of the individual from which creation can emerge,
the creation of a future that would not occur otherwise. This is a magical quality one possesses, as a mage
recites incantations, a human has the ability to transcend time itself and structure that which they wish to
occur, with our most amazing capacity to abstractions.

The fire burns the phoenix, the bird is reduced, just as the individual is burned through sacrifice of what is
most valuable to them, to give everything willingly and openly in recognition that what is evil will burn in the
flames, and what will emerge from the ensuing suffering may be reduced but it will be a pure creation. That
which reduces you burns from the self sacrifice and suffering that the individual willingly engages in. She
arises transcended, and with the knowledge from which comes the ability to overpower that which once was
uncontendable.
One note of importance is the understanding of self-realization. I can harp on incessantly about the
necessity of sacrifice to give rise to the transcendent, point to a million reasons and illustrations that point
to this wisdom, but it is from the realization that this must be done, which comes independent of anything
said, that will provoke true change in one's existence.

If this understanding is approached seriously, you make an agreement with the universe, with god, with the
structure which holds an underlying foundation in which this exchange is serious in the most real sense ,
and will be recognized.
Immortality and Prosperity

The physical body of a human is weak; prone to pain and deterioration, but if we concede that a human is
not a body but a single being, not disconnected or seperated in any manner, then we also see that this
weakness is mirrored by a humans invincibility. How does one wield these powers from which one is
immune to harm from her oppressors? From living in a manner aligned with independently derived truth,
which does not sacrifice the individual consciousness.

This may seem to be such an easy task and perhaps a childish assertion, but if you should look at
humanity, you will see in most persons, actions which are not true to that which is good. Humans are
misled by those who make the greater cause seem the lesser and the better act the worse.

Observe the following lines from Plato's apology which are relevant to our current contention;

Socrates conveyed by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett ( Apology by Plato) :

“There you are mistak en: a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or
dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong - acting the part of a
good man or of a bad. Whereas, according to your view, the heroes who fell at Troy were not good for much,
and the son of Thetis above all, who altogether despised danger in comparison with disgrace; and when his
goddess mother said to him, in his eagerness to slay Hector, that if he avenged his companion Patroclus,
and slew Hector, he would die himself - "Fate," as she said, "waits upon you next after Hector"; he, hearing
this, utterly despised danger and death, and instead of fearing them, feared rather to live in dishonor, and
not to avenge his friend. "Let me die next," he replies, "and be avenged of my enemy, rather than abide here
by the beak ed ships, a scorn and a burden of the earth." Had Achilles any thought of death and danger?
For wherever a man's place is, whether the place which he has chosen or that in which he has been placed
by a commander, there he ought to remain in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or of anything,
but of disgrace. And this, O men of Athens, is a true saying.

For this fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearance of
k nowing the unk nown; since no one k nows whether death, which they in their fear apprehend to be the
greatest evil, may not be the greatest good. “

One who departs from the truth, the truest reality that they can discern, not one of social constructs and
mechanisms of thought; that which were given and reinforced by flawed humans. Descends into hell, by that
I mean one descends into the lowest pit of existence and they will know hell as the suffering from intentional
(with wisdom) evil, one which punishes slowly and tirelessly.

To achieve good you must look at that which is good for you in all of time, good in the present, good in the
past and good in the future. For we live in but one state of mind, which is the eternal-now, but if we are to
achieve more than what we are now, we must make an arrangement to our future-now (our current
perception of the future), to conduct ourselves in good or evil, to reach another state of being.
So how does one engage, if not by abusing other humans or engaging in collective narratives? How else
does one contend the upward journey from hell? It is with the recognition that what is most important and
relevant to the actualization of any greatness, is the most immediate and simple task. We recognize our
existence is one that is lived in the eternal present, and although it is important to create structures and
understand the patterns of the cosmos to divine some reality, if one is to run across the world and battle
Zeus , the first step is not the contention with the Gods… but ensuring your shoes are tied.

- Joachim Wtewael: The Battle b etween the Gods and the Giants (1600) - (8)

And should you die, then you die, it is better to scorch everything that is impure and evil as quickly and
mercilessly as possible, you will not be the same person, your friends and family may not recognize you,
and you in turn may not understand them. This is the price of transcendance, a departure from who you
were, and is it not best then to crave death and rebirth? A god like power given to those with mortal vessels.

How amazing is the human who can be in utter ruin and despair, but if they understand they are in hell and
the very fabric of existence beacons them to realign to truth, they can rejoice! For hell can be logically only
perceived as either non-existence(human demise), or a stage to transcendance.
From Happiness to which comes the stasis;
Addressing the plateau which arises from the attainment of anything ;

- Acedia ; Hieronymus Wierix (16th century) - (9)

Happiness is the aim that is generally pursued by humans in most cultures, certainly happiness is
something pursued by individuals, especially in democratic societies where the individual is the focus of
value that is conferred on the impressionable. One problem that comes from this naturally is that this is
simply not true, on any level.

People who have nothing in life, living on bread or troubled dreams cultivate a genuine feeling of hate, for that
which is placed to be of supreme value, which seems to be attainable through a life of hard work and the
adoption of responsibility never really comes into existence, for happiness is an illusion, it is not something
that we humans can attain, or have the mental capacity to handle should we somehow attain those
circumstances and conditions which we consider to be happiness.
If a person was removed from dire poverty and a life of abuse, and placed in heaven, with the fulfillment of
every bodily pleasure given at the slightest whim of this individual, it would not take but a few years, if that,
before this individual who cried to sleep with pangs of hunger on the city concrete , who could only dream of
this state in their wildest imagination, begins to look for escape from eternal bliss.

The state in which humans are optimal is not one of an everlasting heavenly environment, but one with a fair
bit of moral and physical chaos and trouble, the circumvention and addressing of which gives the person a
sense of value. A moral agent who is not given suffering and contending with problems from the natural
world, to be voluntarily taken, leaves the individual with no purpose.

- Depiction of Mansa Moussa, emperor of Mali ; Cresques Ab raham (1375) - (10)

If this assertion leads one to chance I support supremacy of the materialist, I will clarify this is not the case.
To engage life as a pure materialist is to chase a shadow, cast by those who themselves are under
delusions, one can never reach a point of fulfillment as a materialist, for the problem lies in the illusion that
there is something requiring filling.
What will be found instead is simply longer shadows; frustration and anxiety which comes from the attempt
to attain that which does not exist. Through suffering and honest effort the futility of it all can come into
recognition, from which one gives themselves the power to cease this never ending game, until then one is
as an animal; who battles with their reflection.

Thus the materialist who is under the illusion that becoming a trillionaire will solve all of their troubles and
quench any desire is under considerable misguidance, other than the basic human needs, excessive wealth
does not confer value upon us as individuals.
Section 2: Symbolism, Myth and Meaning
Introduction into Symbolism and Myth

We are shaped by both our natural endowments; our genome, and our environment; the epigenome.The
interaction of which produces a complex web of information that is presented to an individual, who makes
the decisions that seem to be the most good in the current circumstance. There are some who do evil in
spite of logical understandings to the implications of their actions, but most beings do what they understand
to be good.

People understand that there is a limit to their capacity of knowledge, and human beings naturally wanting
to maximize the knowledge that they consider to be relevant in optimal functioning , look to what is
considered important in society. Assuming a normal temperament, or natural endowment, one judges their
framework of understanding the universe in relation to what others in their circle of communication are aware
of.

In the golden age of scientific and technological revolution, we are born of a perception in relation to
existence that is learned, how we communicate with the world directs how we perceive it to be.

The cosmos exists as a whole, but language is used to create seperation of objects; such as a shoe, from a
cup. And distinctions of beings , such as Kloo from Desu. These distinctions are intertwined with hundreds
of other groupings of distinctions such as that of time; the past,present,future and of mental separations;
the mind, the subconscious, fear and hate.

Not all mental divisions are valid to the same extent, an example can be when one attempts to separate
themselves from a certain emotion, such as hate. People often attempt to project this feeling as a separate
entity which presents a host of problems: that of dealing with this illusion and of confronting the problem as
a whole. This is similar to the common perception of the subconscious as being separate from a conscious
being. The asserters often ignoring that the mental structure is but one total pattern, the 'unthinking' being
on the same coin as the 'conscious' thoughts which spontaneously emerge.

Similar to these assertions comes the rise of that intellectual class who proclaim humans are multiple
separate beings who occupy the same mind, ignoring that even though the conscious thought pattern can
change in a person, such as the separate leaves on a tree, they are still 'grown' from the same whole, not
separated or divided.
How do people become indoctrinated into misguided belief systems from which warped systems of thought
emerge?

Many persons are doctrinated into belief systems during a young age, and this being the only way of
perceiving the world that is known to them, develop a skill in this system with absolute submission. A
relinquishment of freedom and individuality , one which if a person has not participated in, cannot understand
the different world that these people live in, and if one does understand the effect of a cult on a child's mind ,
then they understand that they are equally susceptible to re-engage in such behaviour.

We only have limited ways of understanding the world, what we consider the world to be is gained from our
senses; touch,sight,sound,smell and taste, or a variation of these basic abilities for us to perceive reality. It
should be considered then that everything may not be as limited as our human perceptions may show.

While we have the telescope to enhance our natural sight, there may be ways of perceiving reality that are
hidden to us, and as we grasp the world with our hands, we fail to notice the empty space , which shapes
the form of our fingers. It is easy to give into religion or science fully, to not see that perhaps the truest way
for us to perceive reality may lie somewhere in between. As we will see there are many religions and faiths
that have amazing treasures to bestow upon humans, and should we be willing to listen and attempt to
comprehend the tremendous effort over thousands of years made to help us, we may come to a superior
framework of understanding the cosmos.

A blindness exists still in most of the world, that of the individual being placed in submission to the state or
to religion, especially dangerous and vile are the circumstances in which an individual is submitted to both of
these structures. The core issue in a state which is the strict father of the obedient citizens is that it is
based on willful blindness of individuals, who whilst I refer to as wilfully blind, do not understand their
blindness, a human in a deindividuated society feels like he is connected and supported by all those that
support that state and that it is in his duty, rather it is his individual responsibility to protect the state as it is
seen as a loving father doing its best, against monsters who seek destruction and are of the basest
characters. What then is the issue of such a human state? The issue is that it is unnatural, and such a
state can only be achieved in any circumstance if there are persons who knowingly and intelligently do acts
to enslave the population, as individual agents , done through the guise of being in a manner connected to
the subjected, via a imitation of one who is also participating in this cult like trance.

How can one escape the kraken like tendrils that grip any conscious inclination of the person? One cannot
do it willingly, you may present a person who belongs to a deindividuated state with evidence and clear
proofs that what is being presented to them as the reality of cosmos, and the proper way to conduct life, is
completely misguided. Even done in the most calculable of manners this will be outright rejected, one
cannot reason with a mind that has been overtaken by illusions of reality, for your reality is of no
consequence to them.
How do we then best combat the collective impulse?

The path to the emergence of the real individual is clear, it is done through one who does not copy
convention and uses spontaneous thought for distinctive actions. These individuals must die by the
thousands in a state which is subjected to the rule of tyranny, either by state or religion , but eventually
there comes a time when the natural human greed of the religion or state rises to such a deplorable
standard, that even those in the most transfixed of trances observe that what is being asked of them is
highly suspicious and in fact nonsensical, from this the individuals who are not so easily transfixed become
the superbeing , around which the society can rally and rise anew as a group who places the sovereignty of
the real individual at the pinnacle of society, along with the principle of; humanity over ideology, as a
bulwark to those vindictive persons who would harm the population to pay for their inability to bear human
suffering.

The person who would save their fellow citizens from the abuse of religion or the state would not be as is
conventionally thought “good.” In fact it is beneficial to understand that any human who considers himself to
be “good” is very likely to commit the most vile and despicable acts without any consideration whatsoever.
As a habit it is beneficial to observe those that truly believe they are pious or of good virtue, and to
understand that it is these persons who engage in mass murders, genocides and such acts. Why, should
you ask? Why would my kind, pious and god fearing father engage in a genocide against innocents? It is for
the very reason that these individuals deny that they have the ability, and capacity to commit such evils, that
when they are positioned to such actions they do them thoughtlessly and consider them “good”, as a “good”
person cannot be a devil at the same time.

I would argue that the superbeing, that is a real individual, is in fact good and evil, not two beings, but two
sides of the same coin. The individual who recognizes the nature of evil, who develops and fosters
understanding of his most vile capacities and capabilities, whilst developing his knowledge of the equal good
and virtuous actions that can be simararily done, has the capacity for the greatest good. He who
recognizes that nobody can be good, and one who claims to be good, claims to be a god. We have seen
what action such a state can produce, from the raging priest hypnotizing individuals into collectivist hysteria,
to millions murdered in state sanctioned cleansing, the state of mind is the same.

The philosophy of one who advocates for the supremacy of the individual and places humanity over ideology
must also incorporate the understanding that there are those beings who would engage, knowingly, or more
dangerously, unknowingly, in a state of war against the individual, as a natural push for what they consider
to be “good”, that is subjugation to the state or a god.
While the superbeing would regard these people as misguided in principle. Fanatical persons do not live in
the same reality that level headed persons do, some people cannot be reasoned with to understand that
whatever may be their ideological or philosophical views, one must always place humanity over ideology. It
is to these persons, the ones who unknowingly do evil and cannot be dissuaded, to whom the superbeing
must engage in a state of war.

Some people who perceive themselves to be virtuous would deny their human potential for evil, cast the
intentions and desires of a normal person onto a figure such as the devil or in other humans. This rejection
of your potential instigates fear as you attempt to escape yourself, and increases the danger that is posed
now to you by others, as when you are in this state you no longer can sit down with others as among
criminals, to talk with each other as complete beings who have nothing lurking outside in opposition or
hiding in the back of your mind in suspense, we are able to then speak as developing and learning beings
and come to an understanding that may push the scales over a bit for what is truly good.
How does one forge the path to come into an understanding of becoming a real individual, a superbeing?

One must cultivate the essential framework of myth and symbolism, to incorporate into their framework of
reality and understanding of the cosmos. From this begins the creation of the superbeing , an individual who
is neither good , nor bad, but possesses the traits of the good, and keeps in his arsonal the viciousness
from which to combat the ignorant and purposefully ignorant. This real individual understands that he does
not understand reality as a whole, but that what can be understood develops in a lifelong process. Ancient
knowledge is passed from other real individuals, such knowledge is hidden in sacred texts of major
religions and in tales of all sorts. Let us investigate what we can learn from symbolism and myth; the reality
to which this points, in the most practical and simple of terms.

To those who would take offense at one who refuses to subscribe blindly to any of the worldwide differences
in philosophy and methods for determining how one comes to a conclusion about how we know anything,
citing that I must be very afraid as I am unwilling to blindly glue myself to any ideology or worldview without
exception. I understand you position very well, and sympathize with your notions, I remember most of my
childhood as being a cry to subscribe to a fundamental religious and state collective ideology, and did for a
period of time believe this kind of God to be as true as I exist today, but due to my living in a modern 21st
century society where I was at the same time confronted with another extreme opposite, the view of the
fundamental atheists, I became disillusioned with the unapproachability and divided cold nature that was
presented, and from independent investigations came to other schools of thoughts, hundreds of different
thinkers with various unique views, and came to a recognition that perhaps the optimal way for now is one in
which we observe the thesis formation and information collection, the emergence and destruction of
thoughts. To perhaps collect what is valuable and have a more open view of the world, one in which can
emerge the optimal individual, the superbeing.

To have an open mind in analyzing one's perceptions it must be understood that one can only operate on
faith, as every belief that one holds is to some degree a faith, we have limited senses and methods of
comprehending the world, we were not created to muse and philosophize but for simple cause and effect
relationships which increased our chances of survival, and from this we must accept that we cannot really
know everything without the potential of doubt, for we could be completely wrong about what we consider to
be the most solid of facts.

This ties into the concept of those who do evil unknowingly and persons who do evil intentionally. In a
historic context what may have been considered absolutely barbaric, such as when regarding the gassing of
Jews at the Nazi Death camps, we should consider that some involved in these events thought what they
were doing was completely a correct and morally justified action. In this sense they are not as 'evil' as
those who engaged in these barbarisms with the ability to distinguish belief from faith. The latter who acted
with knowledge that perhaps the collective ideology that impressed these Jews were non-persons, was not
completely closed to alternative views, and that the faith that they acted on was not one even in the same
room as to the reality of what was occuring.
That distinction created is not to remove blame, but to impress that not everyone who commited a crime
historically did so with intention and malice, and as it was done before it will occur again. The reason being
that they are not as 'free' as we may imagine them to be with our distinct knowledge and separation from
events. Just as some of these historical evils were done without the intent to commit 'wrongdoing' , we may
consider the importance of extinguishing the sentiment of any belief to the rightness of an action, other than
one who operates on a belief in faith, knowing that all faith based beliefs are not of the same weight.

This gives an openness not backed by what is considered "right" imprinted on you as a child, but urges
investigation with honesty and rational scientific rigour to the maximum extent possible, as to the truth on
matters, and understand still that our limited perceptions most likely are not tuned to understand the
entirety of what the "truth" or BEST way of life is, but we can slowly, become more ‘real’ people as we shed
those things given to us by outside forces, operating as a real individual in pursuit of rational truth to the
logical extent one can self determine.

Let us now enter into the investigation of symbolic representations, attempt to decipher and extract what
insights are offered by stories and art. You may be a skeptic and posit that all we can know is evident, that
there is no meaning beyond what information provides and what is stated literally.

To this I would position that not all times are similar to the society we observe in the 21st century. Ancient
scholars were not able to simply convey information for the emergence of a real individual, such a stance
would have been practically suicidal in many societies, thus the hidden messages, and universal symbols
found intricately woven into art and mythology.

Additionally, some insights are universal. Their meaning which cannot be explained to a collective group,
can be understood if each of the individual investigates the symbolic representations and comes to an
independant conclusion to how the representations apply to their variable circumstance.

But why were symbolic representations chosen by wise men and artists for conveying traditional wisdom? I
believe it is because humans were not created for fantastic episodes of theorizing and musing on the reality
of the cosmos. We are inclined towards cause and effect, the relevant gift that we possess is one of
dreaming, something which is done by all of us, even if you do not dream during the night, you are only kept
in conscious attention insofar as the spontaneous thought that occurs; regarding what is occurring in the
present physical, is more engaging than the dreaming state that one slips in and out of. From this if one is
aware and present , comes an ability to decipher archaic images of serious importance to functioning.

The image of christ hanging on a cross, willfully suffering for the sins of man is an example of something
which has amazing symbolic complexity attached to it, regardless if it occurred or not. The symbolic
significance of Christ comes to light when one either deeply analyzes the christian myths and stories, to
come to some understanding of the practical significance of this specific symbol, or if one is in extreme
duress and under great pain. The results come one and the same, the massive complexities are opened to
those who are open to it, and to them is revealed a secret pattern of existence that is theirs to utilize in
assistance for their suffering.
It can be argued that symbolism and mythology is the only effective way to understand ourselves, as we
cannot purposefully investigate our own minds. We do not think to think the things that we do or what we
do, your mind is like the genetic replicator from which grows the plant; spontaneously bringing the lotus
flower into display from the whole, we see the flower but do not have the ability to see the spontaneous at
work. One cannot use a mirror to reflect itself or the eye to observe the eye, thus the modern convention “to
use the mind to observe the mind” is a paradox and an illusion. An example of one who understands this
can be those ancients who in times of war or duress turned to the great writers of their time, in an attempt to
help make sense of the human proclivity to war, emotional states and general questions of the cosmos.
Symbolic and Mythological Analysis

Note: All images have been obtained from Wikicommons, the free media repository, and are free to use for the
general public. Information regarding specific figures can be found directly below the image and the source can be
located from end-book sources. A few images have been scanned from texts, attributions are provided directly
below the images.

The hero Myth regarding Jesus Christ

Christ Carrying the Cross (1560) - National Museum of the Prado (11)

To initiate our investigations into symbolic representations let us take a look into the figure of Jesus. Like
the figure of Jesus many religions and myths are shrouded in multiple layers of understanding, the reasoning
being that there are multiple layers of intelligence, and people of different education levels require different
interpretations to the same occurrence for the event to be of universal significance.
(John 19:17) - "They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the
Place of a Sk ull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha."

The story of Jesus holds many principles of the hero myth. The hero myth is a symbolic structure. The
(above) mentioned reference to the New Testament which reflects on the image of Jesus bearing his cross is
a very relatable pattern; a cry for one to bear the suffering and struggles that life thrusts upon them, a
suffering which for Jesus was embodied in the Cross that he carried, knowing that he was going to be hung
on it. The light that is shone behind the head of the LORD signifies the unknown structure of reality that if
understood and applied will lead one to salvation.

Jesus bore the cross, suffering abuse from his fellow citizens, which can be understood twofold. One being
the natural way of the world, that is; existence is suffering, with or without humans, either nature will beat
and attempt to break you or you will engage with this nature of existence in the form of human nature,
perhaps in the collectivist nature: which allows the responsibility of being vile, immoral and resorting to a
state of nature in the basest sense, to be dispersed to someone somewhere in the crowd , just not you of
course.

"And some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him,
"Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face," (Mark 14:65).

There comes a time, as is shown in the exact (above) image when Jesus could no longer bear his burden.
Every human comes to a point where he can no longer endure the punishment. The human body can only
suffer so much, regardless of the mental fortitude, as was shown by the LORD, who understood the pattern
of being that all humans must pass through, that of suffering and abuse. A metaphoric and real descent into
hell which is marked by the mental anguish of being when experiencing this. The LORD did not place down
his cross, state that the struggle to bear his burden was simply too much and wait to die or attempt to flee.
What occured is that due to the severity of abuse he could no longer stand, and thus Simon of Cyrene was
recruited to help him carry the cross.

(Mark 15:20-21) - "And after they had mock ed Him, they took the purple off Him, and put His garments on
Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him. 21 And they pressed into service a passer-by coming from the
country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross."

The symbolic representation of Cyrene harkens back to the common saying of “ the LORD never gives one
more than he can bear.” This is true in the most literal sense, and the example provided of Jesus bearing
his cross personifies this, that one must even under the most dire of conditions, carry his burden. If one
cannot bear the burden, do not lose your virtues and relinquish your individuality, rather crawl and continue
with honour.
This image and Cyrene's assistance conveys the message that we should die a virtuous being, if suffering is
our lot; regardless to understanding reality and attempts to better our life, so be it, but what may happen,
most likely, is that you will be “saved.” Your burden will be lightened, perhaps if only a little. As those who
strive towards Virtue, there seems to be some universal pattern of benefit. I should also consider this
'enduring' to be a calling to individuals who seek to “end it all !”; to consider the framework of the cosmos,
random to be sure, but with some consistency and fairness as well.

"And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they k neeled
down before Him and mock ed Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews! 30 "And they spat on Him, and took the
reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31 And after they had mock ed Him, they took His robe off and
put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him," (Matt. 27:29-31).
Christ with Arms Folded painting by Rembrandt, The Hyde Collection, Photograph by Joseph Levy (12)
"Christ on the Cross", by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1870)- (13)

The crucifiction of Jesus can be related to the individual who willfully bears the burden of life,
in a manner one who engages in this process is metaphorically killed. The slain being that
person who they were before they decided to give everything for their convictions. From this
, like Jesus, one descends into the underworld and dies, but this death is one to rejoice! For
that which rises is transcendent, changed into something greater in the hardest times of
their life; “ It was at the lowest of points where I was closest to god.”

This transformation can only come to those who have given every last drop of effort to fulfill
their objective. They are overjoyed when they are cast into hell on earth, as they
understand that this is what it means to be a human; to suffer, willingly, to die and to be
reborn. This structure of possibility is apparent in the (below) symbolism, the light of
knowledge permeates the darkness, it all becomes apparent and the blindfolds are lifted.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ by Hendrik de Klerck (fourth quarter of 16th century) - (14)

In the hero myths the common theme of resurrection occurs after the self-sacrifice of the
individual, who with knowledge bears his cross, and descends into the underworld, here one
suffers but does not die. The individual does in a sense “die” but is “reborn” with a new
understanding of the symbolic patterns to the nature of reality. One who is reborn returns
enlightened and new, the sufferer dies and comes forth a being who has transcended the
issue which caused him agony and death.
Mark 16:15-17: 15 Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the
Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone
who does not believe will be punished. 17 And those who believe will be able to do these
things as proof: They will use my name to force out demons. They will speak in new
languages.

Those that out of intelligence reject the symbolic calls to understand the nature of human,
refuse the gift of rebirth that can be bestowed upon any being who is willing to endure and
strive for a higher purpose; for the attainment of wisdom and transcendance. As Jesus
explains: those who do not believe will be punished, which is true in the realest sense.

For one to live and suffer without any purpose, to not understand that it is through suffering
and striving for virtue that one battles and overcomes demons; that one learns new ways of
understanding the cosmos, a new tongue from which to approach reality. These people only
die once, and do not return as the LORD did. Those who suffer, who bear their cross, who
are crucified for their attempts at transcending their lot. These are the blessed ones who are
sent to the underworld, to suffer at the highest degree, with the most pleasure. These are
the ones who are born and die, as much as is necessary and with an unfathomable wisdom.
Representations

Representations of symbolism,are intertwined with many characters, travellers along the

pattern of the hero myth, for example, are found in many tales. One example being Icarus,
who fell into the underworld, a theme often part of these patterns. These patterns as the
Jungian intellectuals have found; are a representation of the psychological urges many
humans face.

The patterns found are manifestations of the best way to face reality, they provide answers
to questions you may not even have, yet. Many things that we do ritualistically are done
without knowledge of the symbolic significance to them, as things are done without
conscious intellectualization and only after a period of time are they questioned, and much
time further on are they eventually placed into frameworks of behaviour by wise persons. Our
separation from nature creates a divide between the symbolic representations and the
abstractions we are bombarded with constantly, our distance from nature creating a
separation to the significance from which one would approach a symbolic representation.

The Fall of Icarus (1636) by Peter Paul Rubens - (15)

The psyche or mind can be thought to have invented itself, to have grown to its state of consciousness
through thousands of years of development, and perhaps still is developing. Thus we are moved from forces
within as well by stimuli without. The gene is the spontaneous replicator from which grow the mind, as it
was evolutionarily beneficial to be able to react and adapt to senses, and through perhaps millions of years
formed some semblance of a conscious attention which grew from the initial primitive actions , from this
came tools, better food and further development of the mind which made human most fit for the environment,
creating the individual.

Ascent of the Blessed by Hieronymus Bosch - (16)

The power of creating and representing the perceived nature of reality is found in the
unconscious and conscious dreaming. The symbols we create and observe are not coded in
the mind, but we are as a structure open to absorbing them and being able to create
patterns of meaning which may have given our ancestors a superior advantage over their
competitors. An interesting example of this can be the marked increase in works of Homer or
Shakespeare in times of war, something noted by Carl Jung in; Man and his Symbols.
In different places and time myths have had different representations, but all pointing to the
same general pattern of reality. For example the “ Hero Myth”, a transcendance of a human
to struggle and develop the individual, which is actualized through a death, from which one
emerges a matured enlightened being. The death being metaphorical, a decent from which
one burns, like an infested forest, or a phoenix, to shead the impure, rising one able to
overcome that which burdened them.

The myth of the “shadow” is a cry to bear into account one's ability and recognition of their
own evil abilities and desires. If a person tied you and raised a knife to your face you would
be terrified, why? Because as humans we have the capacity to intelligently inflict a great
amount of suffering, we are above animals because of our rational capacity which includes
recognizing how you could be hurt from knowing that you could hurt another in such a
manner. Which then makes this individual who has you in their mercy such a terrifying beast,
because you recognize the shadow in that person, that which is you manifested, something
you may have denied. That capacity you have relegated to the beast who hides under your
bed, not knowing that beast is in fact yourself. To this understanding the hero does not run,
or project the shadow, all of which is not possible but creates tremendous suffering, but
instead assimilates the shadow, a common symbolic representation. The hero overcomes the
dragon via utilizing the power of the shadow, the power which one wields, to use their
capacity for evil to do good.

Carpaccio's St. George and the Dragon - (17)

The fall of Icarus by Jacob Peter Gowy (between 1635 and 1637) - (18)

Icarus is a hero myth symbolic message, it is the story of a youth who flies too close to the
sun, the wax in his wings melting and his subsequent fall, but understanding symbolism can
help us to draw some interpretations onto the message this simple image conveys;

The youthful invincibility and idealism that one possess at a young age gives one a demigod
like feeling , this strength of the body and mind is opposed to the cost of overreaching and
complete failure as Icarus experiences. This is not a call to avoid danger though, but to
understand that this risk must be taken, as he did when he escaped the tyrant king with his
father, and if this risk is not taken forever he would be a prisoner , as an adolescent. Without
this striving for a higher purpose or goals he will never escape, but there is a price to be paid
should the youth overcome with hubris and indestructibility, transgresses against the
structure of reality, and as we observe the sun melts the wings of the young man. This is a
representation of the fall into the underworld.
Michelangelo's Pietà Saint Peter's Basilica Vatican City - (19)

Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew that bringing forth a life into the world would not be bliss
and eternal joy, what is so transfixing about this representation is her solemn acceptance of
the fact that, what was most beloved to her, must enter into this life, and face the trials and
tribulations willingly to become a real individual. With the understanding (of the mother),
that the child may be severely punished, attacked, mutilated and disfigured. This is the risk
that a mother takes when raising a child into this world. The strength of the Archetype of
the mother (Jungian inspired), is that she does so willingly and with full acceptance of this
reality.

Here one comes to the natural opposition of those philosophers who would argue that
non-existence is better than to live, to avoid the trials that Jesus took, and his mother Mary
allowed him to take, without interference , for one must push the limits of reality, to fly too
close to the sun like Icarus, to fall into hell willingly like Percy Jackson, and to rise
transcended with a new ability to conquer the world, and so it goes the eternal pattern of
life.
Approaching the process of growth

As we have discussed, humans have a natural inclination to seek and find meaning in
patterns, in whichever form they may present themselves. We know that the reason for this
comes from recognizing the mind cannot teach the mind, one must live in the present and
allow the universe to unfold spontaneously and naturally, from this emerges symbolic
representations in various forms which allows one to gain advantage in traversing the correct
path to salvation.

This random but predictable pattern that forms the basis for an individuals growth is
recognized by those wise men who would seek to utilize these inclinations, but also by those
who would intellectually and with knowledge seek to destroy you, I speak of evil persons of
course. As we mature from the basic notions reality confers upon us , there is no choice but
to place ourselves to some structure in a blind faith and to go forth thus with purpose.

We have an overbearing urge to surrender ourselves to a structure, as children this urge is

often misused by those who would seek our betterment, those who do evil unknowingly,
causing an individual to surrender to a religion or ideology, which could have been any of the
thousands that exist in our world, but more often than not, these structures that utilize
wisdom in communication of a greater purpose make that end their own, so that the beings
are a means to an end, that being power or simply game, not as beings with the capability of
transcendence and of being 'The Buddha,' as ends in themselves.

We note this traditional knowledge and wisdom passed down thousands of years in the
culture of the hindu’s, and those who observe the teachings of Buddhism; when one greets
another human he clasps his hand in prayer, in recognition of the transcendent being that is
present before them, with the ability to live, die and be reborn, in recognition of a real
individual, the superbeing.
Buddha from the natural stone Basanit with Anjali Mudra (hand position) - (20)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The life of a child is; 'a series of boring and unusual events' , for children things just occur, they do not 
have any deep meaning at the time, and although the child may, in retrospect when developed as an 
individual look upon the events and find meaning. There is in the eternal present of the child occuring a 
blur. The only time this spinning top of occurrences ceases to rotate is when a child is confronted with 
anger and pain. An inability to deal with emotions, which comes from the misled observances of how 
many elders(humans) deal with such occurrences, leads to serious searching. Here one begins to look for 
patterns of meaning and symbolic representations from which to make light of reality. This is a 
spontaneous search, it cannot be instigated, just as one cannot think to think. At a certain point one 
searches for a proper way of traversing their reality. A mother must recognize this, as we observed in the 
depiction Pieta. One can only give so much sustenance to another, and from this they require another type 
of growth, one that must be grown into.   
 
As we grow into adolescence we are confronted with the illusion of time, one perceives that wrongs done 
to them in the past, in moments of helplessness are of their own fault. The illusion of the past as 
existing, as done by one who transfixes his present knowledge to chastise himself for not acting with 
superior unknown knowledge ( as a GOD ), is one which enables the part that many children deny, that of 
their capacity for evil, to inflict evil upon themselves. This is an example of a being who does evil 
unknowingly. 
 
If one is able to transcend and find escape though the wisdom of symbolic patterns and myth to traverse 
this repeating harm, that which once weakened and assaulted him, that which was denied, can be 
recognized as no longer being separated, and from this becomes one of their greatest strengths. This 
development is a call for the Jungian inspired assimilation of the shadow, something that is not actually 
'assimilated', but occurs when the willful ignorance, which can be thought of as a denial of ones shadow, 
ceases to persist. 
 
Humans have an absolute desire to be possessed, and in modern times with the world much smaller, the 
falling of illusions is no longer relegated to the Saints. We all can and do experience the horror of 
recognizing what one participates in during the possession of an Ideology. The transcendence coming 
from the non-distancing of these dark occurrences and malice one has perpetuated, as we are Yin and 
Yang, there is nothing separate from you that committed actions using your flesh. The light exists only 
with the durations of darkness, as the night exists only with the day, the acceptance and dropping of 
illusions can allow one to hope in doing real good.  
 
Those who are inspired to be intelligently evil must also understand the virtuous and good of mankind, or 
they will simply be bumbling idiots not doing anyone much harm, for evil is all they embody. Similarly, if 
one hopes to do the greatest good for all humanity, they must inspire to understand and recognize the evil 
that they are capable of and which exists in the world, from this they have the power to do the greatest 
good, one cannot exist without the other. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our reality is constructed by the mechanisms that we have developed, and if one uses language in the 
functioning of existence to outer notions that one does not believe, or words that have no value, they 
may even devalue the individual in the most fundamental manner. This is a form of self harm that one 
engages in knowingly or unknowingly. A crude example is when one walks past someone and remarks 
“hello, how are you?” and continues onward. This may be considered a polite remark, but this weakens 
the individual because he engaging in the creation of structures that are of no value, if one is to ask 
another of what it is occuring within their lives and how they are feeling about existence, one must stop 
and regard that which he contacts as a sentient intelligent being and engage in a discussion. As this may 
be impractical at all times, one does not damage himself and the structure in which he exists from every 
utterance by a kind namaste, or hello, to acknowledge a sentient being with the potential for 
transcendence.  
 
Symbolism and mythology cry for the individual to enter into the human structures that lead to a better 
life, one in which the traveller engages with the cosmos in a manner that is acceptable and endurable for 
him now and in which the future is kept as a worthwhile object that one can look to as acceptable.  
 
One can look to the human as that which the universe utilizes to perceive itself, as each human has a 
different and unique perception and understanding about the nature of reality, in degrees to which one 
accepts their reality, working through the mystery of universal patterns. 
 
We can see synchronicity in the outer world and the being that is us in our thoughts and stage of where 
we are in our existence. Just as there is something fundamentally eternal about us, the inclination to 
notice such synchronous events should not be passed up as happenstance but investigated as a symbol 
which may not present meaning in and of itself, but with some analysis may provide some answers to the 
predicament to which you are engaged, or have not yet faced. As these patterns of existence and 
structures of being is what we are so strongly and at our core inclined to. They are the bones of your 
existence and your being is wrapped around them.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Animal and the Man  

Sacrifice of a young boar, with kalos inscription (ΕΠΙΔΡΟΜΟΣ ΚΑ ΛΟΣ). Tondo from an A ttic red-figure cup, ca. 510 BC–500 BC 
- Musée du Louvre - (21)  
 
 
Animals(entities) and other non-human objects have been given the symbolic value of reflecting some 
pattern in life. Acts in utilization of the aforementioned play out the intent from which these rituals or 
representations first came, but as we previously discussed, humans forget what the intent behind the 
ritual is, as the act is often committed first and years later do we questions and place value intentionally 
on what was done without conscious thought to the symbolic value.  
 
The act of animal sacrifice in general modern times calls back to the primitive understanding of animals. 
Animals were not thought to possess any qualities which made them good or bad in the same parallel as a 
human, but what value they do possess is that trait of spontaneousness that is present in every living 
being. The mind or foundation of operation to any being is: everything it has experienced and 
experiences, through the lens of which it can extract information, and with what natural processes it can 
recruit to understand and utilize that information.  
 
-Namaste; A recognition of the spontaneous nature of existence present in every being- Unknown Photographer.  
 
 
Humans are parallel to animals because we have this spontaneous quality, we, like the animals do not 
think to think, thought grows to one's conscious attention, and complexly so, in regards to humans in 
contrast with lower animals. What a human possesses is the ability not only to experience thought but to 
utilize it intentionally. We can control thought in the most amazing manner, to make the most trifling of 
matters into something which the entire universe hinges on, or to make the end of the world simply 
nothing of concern.  
 
The symbolic sacrifice of the animal is a representation of a human sacrificing the animal or primitive 
uncontrolled urges in an intentional and direct way, it is a communication with a divine transcendant 
structure, with the most direct and purposeful of actions.  
 
The symbolic value and representation conveyed by the animal sacrifice, marked with blood; a symbol of 
lifesource , represents the transcendence of the human above the common animal impulse. One of the 
traits of a human is to sacrifice the animal instinct; to give rise to consciousness and the real individual, 
one of the first sacrifices required of one who strives to rise beyond the most base and primitive of 
existence. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Purusha - puruṣa, पु ष

An attempt at cosmology, from John Zephaniah Holwell (1711-98) - (22)  

 
 
 
Purusha is a term used to describe a concept which evolved in Ancient India, the texts vary, some so 
archaic that the language is untranslatable. The general principle of Purusha, originally was of a cosmic 
man, a being who was sacrificed by many gods, from which sprang forth all life forms as we know them 
on earth.  
 
 
This concept which was formulated by minds thousands of years before our time is something tremendous 
to behold, especially in light of what the symbolic representation points to in terms of the genetic 
foundation of life as we know it now.  
 
If we consider the genes , the gene replicates itself and from this gene is grown a vessel, animals or 
humans, and even though we humans die, the gene eternal is passed on either through you or someone 
who has the same genetic makeup, surviving and continuing; 
 
“ One becomes Many, and the single Actor plays innumerable parts. In the end, he comes again to 
himself only to begin the play once more–the One dying into the Many, and the Many dying into the One”  
 
It is based in the most sensible of reality. In a sense, you are you, a mortal being, but at the same time, 
you have a transcendent or god like quality within you, timeless, one that does not think or create but 
powerfully just is, the spontaneous spirit of existence.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vishnu Vishvarupa, Victoria and A lbert Museum, London (1800–1820) - (23)  
 
The Lotus flower held , represents the nature of reality, the growth from the unseen from which rises the 
beautiful flower, not separated but of the structure, the same essence displayed in the differing colour of 
the eyes in one being; displaying the unity of structure, the incorporation of the evil and good from which 
rises an undivided being. The lumination beyond the being represents the transcendent structure of 
reality, that which we reach toward and strive to understand; the repetitive patterns in the cosmos from 
which the whole spontaneous nature of reality can be understood, but not ever completely known.  
 
 
The Purusha representation has many depictions but the similarities stated can be seen to hold truth, 
these primitive patterns from which the most complex of understandings is conveyed has similarities in 
the cultures of all mankind : the symbolic messages that point to a higher form of knowledge, the 
creation of a structure from which to comprehend reality, to reflect beyond the immediate; to step back 
and see the cosmic patterns at play for the first time.  
 
 
 
 
 
Sisyphus  
 
 

 
Tiziano Vecellio ; Sisyphus (1548) - (24)  
 
 
 
 
The tale of sisyphus is interesting, told in many variation as it is a tale of old , what is important for us is 
the symbolic representation offered by the art: the depiction being of that man condemned by the gods 
for some apparent wrongdoing to carry a boulder up a mountain, only to have it fall back down and to 
restart the whole thing.  
 
 
This specific outlook if understood by the tale, and the impression left to the observer of the art is one of 
a distinct nihilistic overtone; that we eat just to live long enough to eat again, everything will eventually 
be wiped out, either by the sun in a few million years or the eventual recession of dark matter. While it is 
true that humans take on tasks laboriously, for we are as Sisyphus ‘condemned to existence.’ It really 
then matters, if we do choose to live, how we perceive reality, for if one is in the shoes of the burden 
carrier and views existence as something to conquer, appose to a constant contention, than he or she is 
truly in for a miserable ride. 
 
 
 
 
A humans purpose is not found in knowing and being but searching and becoming. Yes, its difficult to 
carry the burden of existence, its quite hard for many people who don't have the best of cards, but to 
avoid contention is the most cowardly and simple thing one can do. To hide and attempt to find the 
perfect circumstance in which one never has to be challenged to; search, change and grow, is an 
existence in which one will subject themselves to the most deprecating and destructive of environments. 
 
In fact the illusion that people put themselves under, that they have a grasp on the root of existence and 
can hide away in some archaic religion or modern mystic invention is just that;an illusion. One will quickly 
find themselves either in great agony over their betrayal of who they could have been, appose to the 
withered husk of real person that they are, or they will give away their power of recognition as to the 
potential of a real human being, and become spiteful meek creatures.  
 
The options that one has in life according to this symbolic representation is one of three; To carry the 
burden willingly and suffer gladly with recognition that human pain is the universal constant, not the 
abnormal occurrence. To hide from or to be ignorant of your responsibility, obtained by those who with 
knowledge ignore learning, or refuse to recognize that there may be alternative views to existence. 
Finally one has the option of simply “leaving the room”, one which I do not oppose to any human, if one 
decides that the heat is unbearable and there is no recourse to their suffering; as is the modern 
contention with euthanasia, if done in good faith and with just cause from which one cannot endure 
existence. 
 
I must clarify my support for suicide as one of unstoppable physical pain, not of a philosophical suicide, 
from which I position that; life has no meaning given, it does not need to have, and is better perhaps so, 
and that from this we strive with faith in searching and becoming, utilizing our understanding of virtues 
and the limits of human insight, knowing we can't know and making that the spice of the game. 
 
 
As we see, Sisyphus carried his tremendous burden, one in which a real person is seeking and becoming, 
at one with existence and in recognition of the true absurd nature of reality, or as much as can be 
fathomed by us limited beings anyhow. Why does Sisyphus simply not drop the stone and let himself 
perish? Perhaps it is because the option is there, and he is the stronger for recognizing the courage and 
beauty displayed by those who are willing to contend with the gods. 
 
 
When I refer to gods, I refer to the most general application of this abused word, to operate in contention 
with the absurdity of reality which is (only) recognized by the human mind, by taking leaps of faith, with a 
recognition that not all leaps of faith are of equal footing and will never be constants, to do this one must 
become god (transcend the human inclination).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aztec wedding around 1400 CE - Images from the Codex Mendoza - 1938 James Cooper Clark
facsimile edition, London.

The depiction above is of an ancient Aztec wedding, here we see the groom and the bride sitting on a mat,
they are joined symbolically with the male from his cape , and the female from her shirt cloth, behind them
sits a bowl of incense to honour the fire god, Xiuhtecuhtli, directly above this stands the hearth.

The male and the female are placed on a platform, that of corn; the foundation of sustenance. Connected in
a physical bond that gives rise to the new united way from which they will exist. This is done under the
transcendent hearth, placed at the pinnacle of this artistic structure; the essence of love, fertility and life.

What connects this pyramid like structure is the incense that is placed to please the gods, the smoke rising
from the structure of life; through the sacrifice of the individuality, connecting the bond between these two
individuals with power of the hearth, which embodies: living in warmth through the sacrifice of what was held
in value. From this is produced a spontaneous structure which creates the most basic unit of society. In the
representation we can see a person pointing to the transcendence of this structure, the connection which it
creates.
In this unity new life can be brought forth, from the sacrifice to the fire god of their adolescent individuality ,
for a new form of individuality that is intertwined with another being. Under a structure willingly placed above
them, from which these beings now empowered, improve one another in the most sincere manner to
transcend that which they were, flawed mortals scraping along to make sense of existence. To do so now in
tandem with another, who may perhaps help you become a better version of yourself.

Images from the Codex Zouche-Nuttall - 1987 ADEVA facsimile edition, Graz, Austria

Xiuhtecuhtli to whom the sacrifice was made, to whose attention was called for is; the god of fire, the
personification of life after death and sustenance during famine. Xiuhtecuhtli’s importance is confirmation to
the creation of a transcendent structure. As Xiuhtecuhtli was also during times a single unity, as the lord of
duality.

Xiuhtecuhtli representing life after death can be seen as a symbolic figure to the death of adolescent
individuality, and the rebirth of both individuals through the single structure. The weight of which both of these
beings willingly bear, as testimony their sacrifice of their previous selves. For what is to be gained is a
transcendance into a new form of existence, from which new life may emerge and existing life prosper
through the united struggle of these individuals.
Sodom and Gomorrah  
 

Lot and his family leaving Sodom(1625) by Peter Paul Rubens - (25)  

Sodom and Gomorrah is an archaic representation of the price to be paid by man for the absolute
breakdown of all social norms or civility, as was put by John Locke; for a "society" that lives in a state of
nature in the purest sense, where life is poor, brutish and short.

Briefly and to the matters of importance, the community in Sodom and Gomorrah , in a true state of nature
esque fashion mobbed the home of Lot, and demanded his guests to be handed over to be raped. Lot
refused and even offered what was most valuable to him , his virgin daughters, perhaps so to 'save the arm
for the whole' as the saying goes. The mob refused and moved to attack Lot, his guests and family.
Unknown to them the guests were angels sent by the LORD GOD , who proceeded to smote the men,
blinding them large and small ( all blind but to the degree of their culpability). Lot escaped this city, heeding
the words of the angels and commands from his LORD, and the city was destroyed via heavenly
intervention, Lot moved to a small community at a distance.
The interpretation of this symbolic representation was made beautifully in the Youtube Biblical series; XI by
Jordan Peterson. In his analysis, including additional interpretations and investigations, was found that at
the core of this story were several issues to note ;

The mobs initial presence and demand upon Lot is a violation of the stranger. The danger here being that
you don't know who the stranger is, in this case the strangers being Angels sent by the LORD. It is a
display of the danger that is faced by acting upon the immediate desires for sexual gratification outside of
any civilized structure, one which when normalized is an indication that the total structure of society has
collapsed.

The angels blinded the men to the degree of their corruptness, a metaphorical and real blindness as an
inability to see any form of reality whatsoever, which was grown upon them from the actions in a state of
nature, which they participated in.

Lot was hesitant to leave this place, but by the mercy of the LORD he was hurried away with those who
would heed his calls . This is a representation to the fact that: if you live in a place so corrupt that the civil
structure has collapsed and a state of nature has taken hold, persons living in such an aberration cannot be
saved as they are blind to their way of sinning, sin meaning missing the mark in origin. In such a place the
only thing that can be done is to quickly gather your belongings and depart . Lot's wife was turned to a pillar
of salt when she turned and looked back as the town was destroyed by the LORD. The message being that
when you leave such a wretched place, you leave it in mind and body, do not look back least you too should
be destroyed.

Religious symbols are the collaborative wisdom of humanity as a whole, generations upon generations
created and improved symbolic representations in an attempt to guide humanity. A common symbolic
representation, for example, is the Jungian inspired shadow, the evil or capacity to do evil that resides in
every one of us, one if denied creates crusades and iron curtains, but if accepted and dealt with as symbolic
representations urge us to; allows us to deal with each other as undisguised scoundrels , or as they say
with "honour among thieves."

Our ability to deconstruct images to create elaborate frameworks of understanding may have given our
ancestors a superior advantage over their competitors, as Carl Jung once pointed to the increase interest in
Shakespeare and Homer during times of war. These words have deep meanings and can be applied flexibly
to many forms of conflict. Giving us an ability to utilize the collective display of information to understand
and structure reality in a beneficial manner. Symbolic representations mainly focus on major moments in
life: transitions in ageing and responsibilities, death, spirituality and such integral issues, and rightly so,
as these issues are of main concern to most humans.

What must be comprehended is the inability for any author to comprehensively convey what meaning and
insight can be gathered, by you the reader, for each piece of art that I have looked over will perhaps have
slight or radical differences in the messages that they convey, that appeal to your specific moment in life
and what it is that you require. I can only hope I have done some justice to overlook various symbolic
patterns over differing cultures and in this manner shown the value one can obtain by that which is in modern
society regarded as nonsensical mysticism.

 
Precursor To the Inclination of Symbolic representations 
 
 
One is never isolated and alone, their perception of the universe is created through their unique interpretation
and unseeing of it, without this it would not exist as it does. The inclination towards symbolic patterns
comes as a natural adjustment of reality. Just as scientists use computers and gadgets to categorize and
make sense of the world, the natural human uses symbolism and mythology as a natural alteration to seek
a transcendent reality that gives them the gathered human wisdom, and ancient strength , to continue forth
optimally.

It has been hypothesized that primitive humans utilized symbols and representations of myths, on cave
walls and surfaces, as the first forms of communication to express metaphysical ideas; ideas that do not
concern matter directly but in the realm of thought.

Although the human ability of speech is approximated to have developed 100,000 years ago, it can be
hypothesized that ideas of a transcendent nature were best communicated through the usage of symbols
and myths, as these forms of communication can be very vague and apply to many situations regarding the
issue that is faced by the human, but underlying this flexibility is an overarching structure that is held, which
gave great value to cavemen and the humans that followed, including us in the current era.

The earliest cave drawings have been dated to be approximately 40,000-30,000 years old. This period of
time is crucial for it sets a time when humans could conceptualize, understand and utilize art.

There are various books and sources of material as to the origins and precursors to modern symbolic
representations and mythology, I can but provide a glimpse to the massive material in print circulation.
Cave of Pettakere, Bantimurung district (kecamatan), South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hand stencils estimated
b etween 35,000–40,000 Image b y: Cahyo Ramadhani (2014) - (26)
Lions painted in the Chauvet Cave. This is a replica of the painting from the Brno museum Anthropos. Self
Photographed b y: HTO. Can b e dated to 30,000 years ago. - (27)
Cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) painting found in the Chauvet cave and made pub lic on January 17, 1995,
b y the Minister of Culture Jacques Toub on (Source: Gutenb erg.org) ; now known to b e 32,000 year old - (28)

What is most fascinating about these cave depictions is their encompassing purpose, to give information
about edible food sources, to depict hunting techniques utilized and further to show what is wished to
optimally occur; seen in the display of bested predators and successful hunts. In a way symbolizing a
metaphysical optimal reality that may have been hoped for, to further the chances of such occurrences
occuring more often in reality.

Although in the large scheme of time humans moved on to more specific depictions of objects and writing
fairly quickly, these early patterns were a precursor to the sharp consciousness that we enjoy today, and
further point our tendency to symbolize and understand patterns, in a way to influence behaviour and
optimize life.
 
Section 3: Existence and the cosmos
Historical development of ideas and how we come to what we know

Let us first consider the historical process of fundamental change and how it occurs; The thesis ( current
held position) , antithesis ( the new theory) and synthesis ( the new thesis). What occurs is that during a
certain period of time people generally hold a certain belief; one concerning economics, religion, politics,
really anything to do with the cosmos. Then comes along a differing belief, the antithesis, which develops
over a period of time. This clashes with the thesis and over time some change occurs,through violent
revolution or a change in opinion depending on the topic. This new idea becomes the synthesis, the new
thesis, and thus the cycle continues.

The relevant reasons as to why this occurs is because during a period of time, only certain knowledge is
available / accessible and people make the best judgements given on the information that they have to form
a conclusion on the validity of the current thesis.The fact is that all beliefs are based on a proportion of faith,
due to the inability for humans to accurately analyze and come to conclusions without bias, thus not all
beliefs are of the same weight. As the thousands of anti-thesis's have historically shown, there usually is
something people are unable to recognize from which one forms illogical beliefs. Understanding this,
hopefully we can recognize that we may not be as knowing and perceptive on the truth of matters, which
would allow us to open our minds to differing conclusions that come about from the different thought
processes and backgrounds of the thinkers who consider the various topics.

Let us consider the divide between the Fundamental Atheists, the Religious Zealots and the Mystics , each
provide a stark contrast to one another and have entire institutions and government systems built around
their schools of thought. Each of the aforementioned are composed of several distinct schools and
philosophical systems with their own deep history, which give a perfect base from which to consider the
varying topics in society and develop some understanding of the cosmos.
Real Peace in Ultimate Chaos

- Buddha, Kamakura, Japan ; Photo b y: Myriam Thyes(2007) -

Who are you? Some collection of ideas and thoughts; everything that you know or think you know? The
perception you have of yourself in your imagination? In reality we are not any defined thing, really we cannot
be. This deception that is engaged in is quite harmful to the being. We are only what we know in the
present, here right now this very second, that's it, you are not some villan of your past or hero in the making,
you simply exist in the present and from which if one exists knowingly in this artificially learned most natural
state, I really believe that one can find peace and tranquility in the tremendousness of that which exists.

It should be the process of attainment which brings one delight, as one who is halfway to a destination will
attest, perhaps they were headed the wrong way all along and due to the sunken cost of misery, they drown
what little pivot that was accessible to them.
Allow yourself to stop grasping at concepts and ideals with such rigidity that it causes you grief. Just as one
meditates, one should consider societal problems and academic processes, from a point of allowing ideas
to rise and explain themselves, to not latch on blindly and attempt to hold them into place, but to evolve and
allow them to die so that another may form. The truth is that this process will occur whether you cling onto
dogmatic logic or not. The only difference being that in one of the ways of natural change you get to enjoy
the beauty of the natural process which is the evolution and development of humanity, and the other you
scream and claw your nails bloody into the concrete as the revolutionaries carry you off to the asylum. The
repetitive result as to the natural change of society is the natural process of the cosmos. Wether this is an
aberration and stasis is the true constant we should strive for ... is another topic, and truthfully who can
know?

The very objective that there must be a thesis is a questionable reality. If humans could agree that perhaps
we cannot, based on our logic inferred from faith, make any absolute claim on existence, we could then
open ourselves to constantly grow and change as we develop ideas from our limited powers of perception
and analysis.
Yin and Yang

This is the Yin-ya ng symbol or Ta ijitu ( 太極圖 ), with b lack representing yin and white representing yang. It is a symb ol that
reflects the inescapab ly intertwined duality of all things in nature, a common theme in Taoism.- Wikicommons - Uploaded b y:
Gregory Maxwell - (2)

Yin and Yang is a Taoist related depiction as to the oneness of the observable, the implications of this
general idea is varying and open to interpretation. Let us first consider the contradiction between what is
espoused by modern thinkers, as to the separateness of the mind and body and what the Yin and Yang
depiction provides in value to heal this thesis.

When a modern western person thinks of their psychological functioning, I would think that most persons
would be easily persuaded to agree with the opinions of intellects as to the potential separateness of the
mind. That is; the ego manifestation, the jungian shadow, the freudian school of thought and varying
arguments that give some variation of this idea.

What should be considered in response to one who asserts their mental functioning is a result of the
interaction of these separated components, is that perhaps the separation of a being is an illusion created
by the mind. What has to be understood is that every living thing is part of a whole unified pattern, there is
no separation between yourself and the environment, just as there is no separateness in your mind.

The divide that modern western people feel is a result of not understanding that the very separateness that
they feel in relation to the environment, which gives validity to the ego, is a result from the rise of the
scientific thinkers; which required a dividing of the cosmos in order to assist in attempting to make sense of
what we could. The ability to divide the world in lines was used in ancient times as well; by the
pythagoreans. Although not to such an extent as it is now, the point being: if we accept that the
separateness of the world is a result of an attempt to rationalize components, for the advancement of
science, then it is quite useful to actually believe that your mind is divided but to absolve the connection that
binds existence is a very serious mistake.
The thoughts that one has in conscious attention seem to be spontaneous occurrences which are grown
from the very same process of the mind, I call back to the false belief that everything can be abstracted and
known, what should be considered is that one cannot abstract that which cannot be computed; we can't
know what we cannot comprehend. What seems to occur is that the conscious thoughts grow from a
collection of everything that you have ever experienced, as well as what is contained in your genetic
makeup; which gives inclinations toward specific patterns of thought.

We can consider our conscious thoughts as leaves that grow from the plant, which extracts from the
environment and everything it experiences, as well as having information from which the spontaneous
replicator was formed.

There is an amazing connection that humans have to existence, and to attempt to create imaginary
"personalities" which bicker and form your opinion, or the notion that there is some dark pool in the
basement of your mind from which slimy creatures evolve and jump onto your conscious attention; all
games and foolishness. A game that creates immense pain for many people, who sensing this divide
ascribed by the hallucinations of psychologists, want to cure the ego and find security in life, a sense of
peace and calm.

The only problem is that the very pattern of the observable cosmos is one of fluidity and change, which is
connected to that individual who seeks to heal a separation which does not exist. What occurs to these
unfortunates is that they try to find happiness or isolation from the mind which they believe is separate from
them, but one cannot separate from themselves, the only result one can experience is human pain and
suffering, as a person attempts to heal themselves by destroying themselves. There is nothing to escape,
the space between your vessel is not some alien but what forms you.

When one recognizes that there is a connection and pattern to existence, there can be a calm to the
perceived divide. When you feel sad about some issue you should understand that you are this experience
of sadness, it is you, not something separate which is in contention and conflict with you. The amazing
thing of it is, when one stops attempting to rip themselves apart, that which they believed tormented them;
human pain, suffering, almost instantly becomes more than bearable. For you are by nature of existence
somehow able to experience tremendous amounts of pain and not be conflicted. That is if one stops trying
to divide the pain from the person and contend with it as an adversary.

I will admit I don't know how we are able to magnify and decrease our perception of pain from these
viewpoints on existence but just as I do not understand how my leg heals if I slice it up, or how my heart
beats as I sit here and write. My existence continues on in this beautiful synchronous natural pattern
anyhow, humans cannot know everything, for even if the answer was right in your face, perhaps we would
not have the capacity to perceive it. From this we have faith , an openness to the possibilities of what the
world may be, this is a beautiful thing that is not accessible to those who cling to science or god without
accepting that there is a blindness from which we operate, and nothing cannot be known for certain, through
this one enters the void.
Yin and Yang; Good and Evil

"L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs" (hell is full of good wishes or desires).- Saint Bernard of
Clairvaux

The Yin and Yang symbolism displays clearly the reality in which we exist in regards to the human
concepts of good and evil. As discussed, to do the greatest good, one has to have the capacity for the
greatest evil. These operate in tandem, just as do the spontaneous and repetitive patterns of the cosmos,
there is a togetherness of it all. Understanding this we should wipe out the notion that is used by
revolutionaries through the ages who fight to wipe out evil completely and replace it with good, as this is not
possible, just as sure as the cosmos exists. The best humans can do is to deal with each other as honest
criminals and to make the best we can of it, to attempt to do otherwise will surely lead to terrible disasters
as one attempts to do the greatest good, which becomes the greatest evil.

Matthew 5:5 -
Blessed are the meek :
for they shall inherit the earth.

A relevant biblical quote of duality which can be translated that; blessed are those who wield power under
control, to have power without having to impose it undue (James Strong.) These are the people that shall do
what is the best they can, knowing what they know in faith for keeping the scales balanced to the good.

Yin and Yang; Death and Life

The possibility of the total nonexistence of everything is more than mere mystical speculation, as shown by
current held scientific understandings of the cosmos. That of the universe's creation and growing into itself,
which points to a pattern of existence in which the cosmos may once again return, theoretically.

So if we can consider that perhaps life or existence is not the constant but a part of some unknowable
pattern, will this lead us into the nihilistic depression that fundamental proponents of any belief dread?
Initially as one scratches the surface of what they understand it may, but ultimately considering that we
never came into existence, leads to the conclusion that we will never leave existence.

The very existence of the cosmos included the pattern of our creation, and although we are not connected
directly to the stars as we are to the observable, just as the lotus who's wholeness is murky and hidden,
there is a unity to everything. From this, it seems one may die and leave a body, but that this is simply a
part of the whole pattern, living is not everything but a part of what constitutes the whole. Humans may be
to the universe what the body is to the mind, a unified and cohesive process.

To the nihilists I can say faith can be found by removing belief. To the religious I say the real individual
creates the most beautiful purpose when it is recognized there may be no purpose. To the scientists I say
we might understand the mystery of the universe when we accept we can’t know everything about it all.
Yin and Yang; Moving forward with the unified understanding

How we move forward from the current thought and operation of humans is with an understanding of the
connection between that which we perceive to be good and evil. Humans think that technology will be their
savior and eventually will decimate all ‘evil’ , but as we know this is a deceptive trick of the mind. Just as we
develop the cure for cancer, simultaneously we further our development of nuclear bombs and methods of
war. Just as 10,000 humans are saved from smallpox , 10,000 die from starvation, we can never end what
we perceive to be evil because it is tandem with that which is good, on every level.

If we wish to "save the world" and reduce suffering, it cannot be solved by: technology, world wide
organizations or philanthropy. I applaud the efforts of those with the intelligence and means to assist the
unfortunate, but what should be considered is that what needs to be given to those who have everything, as
well as to those who have nothing, is the power of real individuality. One can give a desolate man 1 billion
dollars and he would be just as miserable in 5 years as he was when he had nothing, perhaps even more
so. To those who do not have the ability to live in the present and understand our connection to all of
humanity and the cosmos, can be given nothing to appease, for in reality what is needed can only be
realized not bestowed.

Humans will always have enemies as how we perceive reality is in levels of contrasts, if someone is to
amount to be a " good " person, it can only be done so in contrast with a " bad " person, and thus is the
game played, but as all humans are of evil and good, one and the same, we can prevent the game from
going out of hand, by playing it with " honour among thieves."

Matthew 5:43-45;

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your
Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
the unrighteous.

Thus we should not strive to ultimate good or evil, but to understand the reality of life and play our part in
balancing towards good only in recognition of that. If one country labels the other as bad and works toward
its isolation from the international community, is it them the "bad" who is furthering the scale to death and
evil, or is it those who think they are the keepers of virtue and good, doing what they can to find an enemy
and eradicate the evil.

Recognize the unity of the cosmos, that distinctions are products of humans who are genius but with an
equal balance of stupidity. Everything you hear, see or touch comes into you as a sensation and is in that
way a part of you. The unknown which permeates and is everywhere yet perhaps nowhere is known to us
intimately, yet without intelligence, just as we know how to grow our eyelashes, yet the knowledge is not
accessible to the narrow focus of the human.

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to k now itself.”
― Carl Sagan
Yin and Yang; The power of separation

As we have discussed, the human is inclined in modern times to abstraction and division of all that can be
experienced, in this way is created many useful patterns that are utilized for the optimization of life, but in
my observation they require careful consideration on a global level, for these patterns which are of the
imagination may not be the natural way, that of which we cannot comprehend, and thus should not be
unmoving.

My relevant contention with the modern educational system is that the current methods used for instructing
children on the reality of the cosmos, suggests it to be one that is interacted by a machine. Children are
taught to maximize their computational capacities , to digest and regurgitate that which is right in front of
them. In this manner one does not create an individual who is capable of free thinking and rationality, but a
dumb computer who is unable to be a human or a machine. This method in short destroys that which had
the potential for real individuality and creates a subservient slave of the collective who believes they are wise
beyond comprehension, but use that imagined wisdom to ponder over how many sand pieces make a pile.

Consider in this regard, the global abuse used in the invention of time, a nonexistent illusion which is
utilized in imagination to create productivity. This tool of humanity has great potential, but just as we
understand the good for which it can be utilized, it is as just used for the detriment of mankind. Many unique
perceivers of existence have been ruined by this imagined division of the universe, from which one attempts
to extract from the individual as much as possible before they are wasted from life. Utilizing time as a
warden is done in my experience by evil people, most of which who are unknowingly evil.

When humans are told to eat 3 times a day, sleep for 8 hours a night and work for 40 years a life, what does
this all mean? Nothing but stupidity.

Which imbecile had the audacity to state a human being must eat 3 times a day to be sustained? You and
I. Which ingrate had the brain spasm from which to cry out a productive life is one of 40 years in labor? You
and I. Which intellect had the capacity to obtain the exact sustenance required for every human being in an
imagined period of time, both you esteemed being, and I.

I do not abuse you my magnominiously beautiful reader, but (feebly) attempt to penetrate the clutches of
what is not being utilized by your collective knowledge as to the operation of the cosmos. My nature is to be
gentle in explanation but I must in turn be severe to bring forth change. Recognize that not everything can be
abstracted and planned, perhaps you will sleep for 10 hours and eat 1 meal a day, and you are unable to do
your calculations for your work after 3 hours of intense focus. I am attempting in a stupid manner to explain
that if this is so, than any attempt to make it not so will simply cause anxiety. We are created to live in the
eternal present, and how magnificently will you perform if you operate in a manner that is optimal for your
existence now, still utilizing these amazing frameworks and creations of mankind but with the recognition
that these are all illusions created to be of assistance, they are not your keepers, you are the master of
your present existance.
How then do we create an environment for the rise of an individual? How do we teach children to
comprehend the magnificence of the cosmos and understand reality?

We don't.

To think one can teach another is to behave with it as an object, the very concept of "teach" and of a
"teacher" is where the problem lies in itself. Instead there is required a removal of "teachers" and of
"students." A recognition to the natural capacity of a human to engage with the cosmos without
intervention, a place in which those with knowledge act as simple facilitators to those who have the capacity
to achieve more than their limited minds could ever comprehend.
Endnotes

Hello everyone, I hope you have enjoyed my work and derived some benefit. If you have any criticism or
would like to message me about anything that caught your attention, I would be more than happy to
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Image Sources

* All Images are Copyright free and attributed where necessary, originals can be accessed on the free media
repository online: Wikicommons, or from cited sources from which they were scanned.

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26. Cave of Pettakere, Bantimurung district (kecamatan), South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hand stencils
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kamakura-buddha-7.jpg
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