posted March 16, 2007 02:45 PM         

As you probably know, all philosophers can be divided into two categories: Materialist and Idealist. Emerson was a philosophical descendent of Plato, not Asistotle, so, yes, he was an Idealist, in the classical sense; his philosophy focuses more on the nature of perception than on so-called "objective reality", and spirit more than matter. I don't think he was especially idealistic in the sense of being overly optimistic, though. Have you read his great essay, "On Experience" (I believe its called)? It's full of profound disillusionment. And very wise.

posted March 16, 2007 02:51 PM         

I'd also like to touch on this pisces topic. Yes pisces often do seem to have been around the block. But this does not mean they are the oldest or the most spiritually evolved. In fact, I've met some really nasty pisceans. What makes it worse is that they have the awareness to know better, but they flail and flag under the misty dissipating waters of neptune, which transform them into hypersensetive, manipulative, and deceitful creatures. So overall I'd say this stereotype of the evolved piscean is limited at best, if you survey all the people you've known of various signs, you'll see that spiritual power is really spread out.

posted March 16, 2007 02:55 PM         

There's no need to state the obvious, as if it were some kind of insight. Nobody here is arguing that bragging is a good thing. That would be pretty ridiculous. What we are divided on is the question of what constitutes "bragging". I contend that, to simply admit to being in possession of higher wisdom is not "bragging". Others seem to disagree.

posted March 16, 2007 03:01 PM         

I agree. Sun sign alone is no indication of spiritual evolvement. A person born on the day when the Sun exactly trined Neptune is far more likely to be spiritually evolved than a person born in the 30 day period in which the Sun was in Pisces. Still, even then, the chart must be taken as a whole. Being highly attuned to outer planetary enerigies is just as likely to make a person crazy as it is to make them evolved. It may be that the level of evolvement cannot be seen in the chart at all, or only by highly skilled astrologers.

posted March 16, 2007 03:06 PM         

Agreed, it is not the possession which people are objecting to,
but the open admission of one's higher understanding.

If they do not agree with a person's teaching,
most people convict that person of arrogance.
If they do agree with his/her teaching,
they are more than happy to agree it is of a higher order
than other teachings.

Please read my response to aqua inferno,
for the definition of "superior".

People get so caught up on words.
Why is that almost nobody objects to "higher",
but almost everyone objects to "superior".
There is no difference.

posted March 16, 2007 03:11 PM         

Dunno if I am going on a tangent, but I was reminded of this quote from the movie ‘Before Sunset,’ where Julie Delpy says:

quote:

---

I was working for this organization that helped villages in Mexico. And their concern was how to get the pencils sent to the kids in these little country schools. It was not about big revolutionary ideas—it was about pencils! I see the people that do the real work and what's really said, in a way, is that... the people that are the most giving, hard-working, and capable of making this world better, usually don't have the ego and ambition to be a leader. They don't see the interest in superficial rewards. They don't care if their name ever appears in the press. They actually enjoy the process of helping others. They're in the moment!

---

Granted, maybe it’s true that some people are intellectually superior than others. My question is: Does it even matter…??? Sometimes I think that all intellectual superiority means is just that… you’re smarter than a whole lotta other ppl(!). But it doesn’t always speak of compassion... or even nitty-gritty action for that matter...

I agree with lioneye about something she said... something like, we should interpret ppl in terms of differences rather than superiority/inferiority...

posted March 16, 2007 03:25 PM         

You'll like this:

"I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another."
~ Ellen Goodman

I liked that movie.

But the argument she was making is that it is unfortunate that self-sacrificing people so rarely have the ego to be leaders. She was speaking of ego in its positive sense - to have a strong sense of self-awareness and self-confidence, not arrogance. The people who possess both leadership abilities and sacrficial abilities are rare, but they are the heroes of our histories; like Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Albert Schwietzer, etc.

Likewise, it is unfortunate that so many people who have the intellectual and emotional sensitivity to understand and express moral ideas and sentiments with force and precision, so rarely possess the gifts which incline them to follow through on their perceptions. Men of thought are rarely men of action (this is not an excuse, but a fact which we can observe clearly in the world, as well as in astrology - by how rare it is for the planets to be distributed in such a way as to empower the mental, emotional, and physical energies). But, this is not so disconcerting, when we reflect that words are active in themselves; they can hurt and they can heal; they can lead us to our hearts, or they can lead us astray. Remember, Jesus preached the truth for years, before he fulfilled it.

To say a thing well, is to perform a kind of deed. And to communicate profound truths clearly and concisely, is a work of great merit. The Bible is just a book, but it is a book containing within its pages the seeds of many great deeds. Perform a good deed, and it may be witnessed once. Write about a good deed, and it may be witnessed thousands and thousands of times. The historical Passion, if it ever happened at all, happened just once, a long time ago. But, because it was written down, the whole world knows of it. It may not even have happened!, but, because the story was told, people everywhere are inspired by the love and example of the martyr, Jesus Christ, who they never saw perform a single deed.

HSC

posted March 16, 2007 03:38 PM         

So, to create a character you take three 6-sided die and you roll them for each characteristic or atribute or ABILITY. They say that a roll of 9 or 10 for an ability is average, and say... a 13... is very good. Someone who gets a 16, for example while "rolling" for the characteristic "Physical Beauty" is said to be movie star lovely, while a 13 is just prom queen lovely and an 11 is a little prettier than average. Most Game Masters (God of the game) allow a couple extra points to be added on to any ability if you choose to lift a really low score in one area or if you choose to simply add your points to your area of expertise. This is how a Mage might have a "supernatural" intelligence of 20 (two above the 18 maximum of three 6-sided dice) but only a Physical Strength of 4 and a Constitution of 6.

A Priest will put his extra points on Wisdom. And his other highest characteristics/ability points might be in Charism, Intelligence, Physical Beauty and then average Physical Strength. Lower scores to Constitution, Dexterity etc. I might be missing a couple and everyone chooses different areas of strength.

Anyway...
those of us with the intelligence to investigate astrology and the wisdom to understand metaphysics, might not view it as a simple random roll of the dice. We might understand that over the course of lifetimes we have honed our different abilities and focused more fully on certain characteristics.

To KNOW THYSELF and to have an awareness of your strengths and weaknesses, is not bragging. To share with others your strong points and weaknesses is a sign of comraderie and friendship. If we don't know who is good at what, how can we know how to work together to use each other's abilities to Save Our World?

posted March 16, 2007 03:45 PM         

Expertly said.

If only everyone could have a Venus/Uranus conjunction like us.

posted March 16, 2007 04:18 PM         

Heart Shaped Cross is a Paladin

Wiki Quote:
The official title has come out of fashion, but the meaning of a character full of virtue remains, and one called a paladin is meant to be a thoughtful, virtuous man. Given the history of the term (*military*), it would give a wrong impression, since a paladin is in a way close to a monk.

Some modern role playing games and fantasy literature make use of a "paladin" character class based on the medieval concept. For computers, board games and many more there are popular game characters listed on paladin (disambiguation). Fantasy paladins are usually holy knights, combining both combat and healing abilities.

posted March 16, 2007 04:21 PM         

Yeah, that's me alright.

I had some friends who were into D&D when I was younger, and I played a few times. I chose to be a "Timelord Bard".

posted March 16, 2007 04:24 PM         

And I've got this friend, you see
Who makes me feel
And I wanted more than I could steal
I'll arrest myself, I'll wear a shield
I'll go outta my way to prove I still
Smell her on you

Don't - tell me what I wanna hear
Afraid of never knowing fear
Experience anything you need
I'll keep fighting jealousy
'til it's f*cking gone

And I've got this friend, you see
Who makes me feel
And I wanted more than I could steal
I'll arrest myself, I'll wear a shield
I'll go outta my way to prove I still
Smell her on you

Truth!!!!!!! -
covered in security!!!
I can't let you smother me!!!!
Like to but it couldn't work!!!
Trading off, taking turns!!!!
Don't regret a thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I've got this friend, you see
Who makes me feel
And I wanted more than I could steal
I'll arrest myself, I'll wear a shield
I'll go outta my way to make you a deal
We've made a pact to learn from whom-
ever we want, without new rules
We'll share what's lost and what we grew
They'll go out of their way
To prove they still
Smell her on you
Smell her on you
Smell her on you

- Kurt Cobain

posted March 16, 2007 04:28 PM         

The artistic Kamilla is wise indeed ^

posted March 16, 2007 04:39 PM         

*edited to say: OHHHHHHH * hehe

Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
And love one another right now

When I was an alien
Cultures weren't opinions

Gotta find a way
To find a way
When I'm there
Gotta find a way
A better way
I had better wait

Never met a wise man
If so it's a woman

Gotta find a way
To find a way
When I'm there
Gotta find a way
A better way
I had better wait
Gotta find a way
To find a way
When I'm there
Gotta find a way
A better way
I had better wait

Just because you're paranoid
Don't mean they're not after you

posted March 16, 2007 04:49 PM         

quote:

---

I'd also like to touch on this pisces topic. Yes pisces often do seem to have been around the block. But this does not mean they are the oldest or the most spiritually evolved. In fact, I've met some really nasty pisceans.

---

quote:

---

What makes it worse is that they have the awareness to know better,

---

posted March 16, 2007 06:51 PM         

Aqua, it may be I am a 14th round sadge, but who knows if reincarnation exists if we progress around the zodiac, who knows if reincarnation exists at all? I'm not sure i'm full convinced that there is an immortal soul (not to start a whole new dialectic LOL). You make a good point though, one can't assume that pisces do have a great awareness, although I have found that they DO tend to be sensetive to their surroundings at the leat. Being sensetive to surroundings can easily blossom into a spiritual awareness.

---------

MM~ Have you ever heard the expssion, "god divides?" That is, one person can't be that strong in one area without being deficient in another. In other words, nobody can have it all. Not to offend anyone, but extremely attractive people DO seem to have a cap on their intellectual abilities, but this is not always the case I suppose. Incredibly intelligent people also often seem to be a bit socially blunted. Very athletic people seem to not be the most intellectually inclined. But these could have reasons other than "god dividing," based on genetics and other factors.

posted March 16, 2007 08:08 PM         

quote:

---

There's no need to state the obvious, as if it were some kind of insight. Nobody here is arguing that bragging is a good thing. That would be pretty ridiculous. What we are divided on is the question of what constitutes "bragging". I contend that, to simply admit to being in possession of higher wisdom is not "bragging". Others seem to disagree.

---

And if I remember correctly I was addressing Swerve, not you, so why don't you calm your G0ddamn hemroids! Frankly I don't care what the argument evolved to be, I just found Swerve's comment to be ammusing and decided to commet on it myself while stating my own opinion. If you didn't like it...you could've skipped right over it.

posted March 16, 2007 08:25 PM         

quote:

---

why don't you calm your G0ddamn hemroids!

---

LoL.
I'm calm.

How are you?

quote:

---

I don't care what the argument evolved to be.

---

And I do care.
I'm trying to keep it evolving at all times.

quote:

---

If you didn't like it...you could've skipped right over it.

---

Your post was confusing the issue.
I felt a responsibility to address it.

Also,
It's a public forum.
You need to reconcile yourself to that.
Your words are being seen by everyone.
It's like talking loudly on a cell-phone in public.
If you want to have a personal conversation,
send Swerve an email.
When you post something where everyone can see it,
it is going to have an influence,
whether you want it to or not.
I saw that it was likely to have a bad influence.
I spoke up to keep the thread on track,
before it went off the rails.

Although I sympathize with your momentary discomfort,
I cannot apologize for wording my response in such a way
as to make your error evident, to you and to everyone else.

,
hsc

posted March 16, 2007 09:08 PM         

Thank you. My personality and emotional nature is extremely complex. You may never figure me out because I'm always changing. I've heard I look like Christ before, but, were you looking at my picture, or the one of kurt cobain I posted in this thread? Sometimes, I take the path of asking questions, as you have done, and I think there is a lot of wisdom in that approach. But, usually, I have so much to say, and I just say it. I'm always trying to refine my style, to make my writing more simple and clear. The problem is, I do not want to sacrifice all the subtleties I see. It would be very easy for me to write short, simple, declarative statements. Many writers develop a huge following doing just that, but their words are imprecise and misleading. The result is that more and more books have to be written, to clear up all the misunderstandings. But these books, written in the same simple style, only create more and more misunderstandings.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible,
but not one bit simpler."
-- Albert Einstein

BlueRoamer,

quote:

---

HSC uses a lot of metaphor in his writings, one sentence written in metaphor can convey more meaning than 30 sentences written by a lawyer. And although sometimes metaphorical speech takes more attention and more patience, when you truly hone in on it, and allow it to stimulate your imagination and intuition, its well worth the effort.

---

I couldn't agree more. Thanks.

posted March 17, 2007 12:08 AM         

If a few people are sitting around trying to figure out how to solve the Rubik's Cube, and someone of greater knowledge comes along and shows his/her record time at solving it in an impulsive way (that perhaps comes across as arrogant), it's not terribly likely that those trying to figure it out for themselves are going to act too kindly towards the Rubik's Cube Genius. In fact, Rubik's Cube Genius may cause those trying to master the Cube for themselves to abandon their efforts realizing what Rubik's Cube Masters are like.

posted March 17, 2007 12:32 AM         

If you ask me,
it's not a game.
But what do I know.