Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Learning From The Greek Gods: Apollon

For a long time, I have started and tried to finish this series of mine, "Learning From The Greek Gods." It was not intended to be a series of the many Greek Gods, just the Dodekatheon, but I was never able to complete it. However, this time, I intend to finish it out. Let's begin with one of the most popular of the Dodekatheon.

Apollon is the God of Light. Other attributes of His include the sun, truth, prophecy, music, healing, oracles, poetry, and archery, and with His silver or golden bow, one of His most popular epithets is the Archer and one who drives away evil or negativity.

Apollon is a God who brings enlightenment, so what does it mean to be enlightened, and what does it mean to strive toward enlightenment in life? Enlightenment means to have or seek a greater understanding of things that the average human mind does. This does not mean you think of yourself as knowing more than other people, but rather elevating your mind above the basic mundane of human consciousness and awareness. For example, humans generally have a desire to be greedy, so being generous would be enlightened above the normality of humanity. When so many people in the world resort to violence to settle a mere verbal dispute, it is enlightened to not let the words of another control you and walk away. In other words, you become greater than yourself instead of greater than someone else. This is what it means to be enlightened and to seek enlightenment. Learning from Apollon in these respects is to look toward the heavens. And what I mean by that is to look above general humanity and toward greater meaning for yourself and how you live. Each of us will find our own personal truths and that's perfectly fine, but the important thing is that we find them, and that they drive us to be greater than we were previously. And Apollon, being a God of Truth, lifts us to that universal wisdom, the universal wisdom that enlightenment is possible.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Gods Might Be Different

There are different beliefs, and much debate, surrounding who the Gods are and how they work, operate and exist. I have philosophized about this as well, and have even been at war with myself at times trying to figure out how one belief can be compatible with another that is equally true in my view. But now, I have arrived at my conclusion, and I think it's very important that each of us who worship the old Gods come to peace with ourselves in the assurance and logic of our own beliefs. Before reading on, please keep in mind that these are my own personal beliefs, and they do not exist to challenge, change or disprove the beliefs of anyone else. 

I think the important thing to remember is that the Gods, while we commonly see them in their common images, are not bound to one body. They can move through space, time and existence at their own will in any form they choose. As evidence of this, we need only look at some of the Greek myths. We see that the Gods were able to change themselves into other forms, such as animals, and for this point I am about to make, it's also important to remember that the Gods turned things into other forms. For example, Athene turned Arachne into a spider, and this is the myth as to the creation and life path of the spider. So we have established here that the Gods, one, do not have one body, that they can move through space, time and existence as they choose and become what they want, and that they can also transform the very existence they see before them. To that end, it seems to me that the only reasonable conclusion is that the Gods exist, at least in one of the many forms, as the consciousness of the Universe and existence.

However, we should not allow this belief to bind us solely to the view of strict Pantheism, as in that we think the Gods are simply nature and that is it. They are far more. We must conclude that the Gods can separate themselves from nature and the realms over which they rule, for if they are not bound to a single body, then no single body can force them to remain in one place, as we have just discussed. Therefore, the Gods cannot be just nature, because to say that they are only nature, is to say they are bound to one form and one body. Poseidon is not merely the sea, nor Artemis the forest, or Zeus the sky. They rule over these, they move through them, manifest in them, and change them at their own will, and in those ways, they are part of those. But, at any second, they can leave these places, because they are not bound to them and are not the places themselves. As an example, Artemis is the Goddess of Forests, and while She can exist within and hold a connection with them, the forest does not hold Her in place. She is not trapped. She can leave and still be present within the universe. Another way to see that the Gods are not merely nature itself, nor merely the things over which they rule, we only need to ask ourselves, "If a river dried up, would Poseidon dry up as well? If a forest burned down, would Artemis also burn? Etc." The logical answer would be "no," because the Gods are immortal, deathless, and living forever. 

In conclusion, the Gods are everything, they are existence itself and maintain the ruling and divine powers over it, which extend into our world and even far beyond it into other worlds and realms that we will probably never see, such as other planets, solar systems, and time and space everywhere and anywhere. In all truth, the existence and being of the Gods is probably something that we, as mortals, will never fully comprehend. Throughout history, we have established groups and people devoted to the Gods, and still continue such establishments, yet even today, we consider ourselves to be wise to admit that we know nothing. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Anger of the Gods?

Back in my younger days as a Greek worshiper, I used to worry a lot about if I had possibly angered the Gods, so I am not so naive as to think that I am the only one. Thankfully, my mind is at peace with this, due to my realization that the immense goodness and highness of the Gods, makes it impossible for them to be subjected to human actions. In other words, beings which are inferior to the Gods (humans), cannot possibly possess the power to change the mood of those who are not inferior (Gods). In fact, some might consider it to be disrespectful to suggest that we can, in fact, control the mood of the Gods.

When you are talking about Gods, you are speaking of beings who are above anything humans can do. This also means they are above our minds and emotions. Simply put, you can't make a God mad because you don't have the power to change them. Angering the Gods is a concept most appropriate for myth and people who are paranoid of being punished (superstitious). That is not, however, to say that the Gods do not send justice. They most certainly do, and that varies from situation to situation, but this is not the same as anger. Also, being that the Gods have known us for centuries, I would say that it would only seem logical to me that they understand us. They know how we think, they know our emotions, and they know why we do the things we do. Knowing this, the Gods understand that it is only to be expected that we will falter and make mistakes. And yet, they remain, wanting to take part in our lives, and help us along the way. Compassion, understanding, and obviously, extreme patience do the Gods have, and when one has these things, anger and the determination to harm cannot be present, because such things are the opposite.

In conclusion, we can't anger the Gods because, one, we can't change them. And two, because they expect us to make mistakes because that's our nature. One does not get angry at someone or something for doing what it does naturally. You don't get mad at a lion for roaring, or at a bird for flying, and you don't get mad at humans for making mistakes. By not running and hiding, but instead acknowledging them when they happen in our lives, we can purify ourselves of the error and do better in the future. Always remember that each day is a chance to be better than the previous.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris.