#hermiticism

[learnorneverrealize1888000888]

[orthodoxadventure]

The monastic life first emerged as a definite institution in Egypt at the start of the fourth century, and from there it rapidly spread across Christendom. It is no coincidence that monasticism should have developed immediately after Constantine's conversion, at the very time when the persecutions ceased and Christianity became fashionable. The monks with their austerities were martyrs in an age when martyrdom of blood no longer existed; they formed the counterbalance to an established Christendom. Men in Byzantine society were in danger of forgetting that Byzantium was an icon and symbol, not the reality; they ran the risk of identifying the kingdom of God with an earthly kingdom. The monks by their withdrawal from society into the desert fulfilled a prophetic and eschatological ministry in the life of the Church. They reminded Christians that the kingdom of God is not of this world.

Monasticism has taken three chief forms, all of which had appeared in Egypt by the year 350, and all of which are still to be found in the Orthodox Church today. There are first the hermits, men leading the solitary life in huts or caves, and even in tombs, among the branches of trees, or on the tops of pillars. The great model of the eremitic life is the father of monasticism himself, Saint Antony of Egypt (251-356). Secondly there is the community life, where monks dwell together under a common rule and in a regularly constituted monastery. Here the great pioneer was Saint Pachomius of Egypt (286-346), author of a rule later used by Saint Benedict in the west. Basil the Great, whose ascetic writings have exercised a formative influence on eastern monasticism, was a strong advocate of the community life. Giving a social emphasis to monasticism, he urged that religious houses should care for the sick and poor, maintaining hospitals and orphanages, and working directly for the benefit of society at large. But in general eastern monasticism has been far less concerned than western with active work; in Orthodoxy a monk's primary task is the life of prayer, and it is through this that he serves others. It is not so much what a monk does that matters, as what he is. Finally there is a form of the monastic life intermediate between the first two, the semi-eremitic life, a 'middle way' where instead of a single highly organized community there is a loosely knit group of small settlements, each settlement containing perhaps between two and six brethren living together under the guidance of an elder. The great centres of the semi-eremitic life in Egypt were Nitria and Scetis, which by the end of the fourth century had produced many outstanding monks - Ammon the founder of Nitria, Macarius of Egypt and Macarius of Alexandria, Evagrius of Pontus, and Arsenius the Great.

-- Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church

[zephzero]

Fact. Qui Gon Jinn is the best Jedi. When faced with imminent death, he chose to sit and commune with the Force of the universe rather than raise up like a scared cat and check his cellphone. He was right. Darth Vader DID bring balance to the Force. Second Fact. Jedi are weird. Not fun weird. Cult weird. No emotions. Holy than thou. And too damn many of them. Until Darth Vader popped off and balanced them out. Too much light makes a desert. (Not a sweet thang) Nothing survives a a dehydrated wasteland but sand and death. Darkness is the balance. May the Fourth be with you. #liamneeson #starwars #shadow #hermiticism # quigonjin #greyjedi #sith #balance #tao #instaart #digitalart #pandemic #disney https://www.instagram.com/p/B_yWHmOAyui/?igshid=1osmf5f0js9dz

[sat--nam]

I have once again selected the path of sobriety, this time in a conscious choice to be a clear channel. I have been engaging in ceremonial magick & the secrets of the Qabalah, which has helped me to connect even deeper with the Tarot, through the path of Initiation into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. I've always been called to knowing the mysteries of the Qabalah, having been initiated in previous lifetimes, & on the Spring Equinox (beginning of the Zodical year) in my tarot Lust year (the year of becoming more intune with who I truly am) the path revealed itself to me once again, beginning with The Middle Pillar. I plan on sharing ritual work in the future. Magick is real 🔯

[orderoftheagelessstar]

Fragment

Everything that can break Will break But nothing is ever Unmade And we do not embrace.

[beatnikwitchery]

[desayunoquesadilla]

You Know What?

I guess I've been trying too hard (trying) to be friends with all the wrong people. I mean, how dare I try to help everyone? I'm too ugly or that! People will listen to the stupidest things from a pretty face and call it gold, but when someone looking like me says it they brush it aside, deny it, or downplay the statement.

"Psh, Uggo, I already knew that capitalism exists because there is a lower class that is perpetually Beezy-Slapped by the upper class in order to consolidate their power."

"OMG, Tan-Skin, you're so right! Beauty is only skin deep! Except for you, because your spilled-coffee-on-the-table level of intellect means you have such a vibrant, living soul and I just want to-"

You get the idea. I really hate my existence and the fact that I feel that my only reason being here is to help people and people don't want my help. If God had a sense of humour here, the punchline would be me throwing myself and a toaster in a bathtub, ending it all, because that's the only point of my life, right God? :D

All jokes aside, I'm tired of it. Sure, I need to lose weight to max my PT score, but I'm sure as f*** going to stiff arm all the people who comment on my weight loss and "suddenly want to hang out".

"Trick you wasn't wit me sweatin' in da gym"

But I'm off that Drake though, I need to replace him with some Young the Giant.

Anyways, yeah. I'm closing my emotional doors as of today,, June 28, 2012, until further notice. People don't want to be helped, they want some infantile fantasy to be fulfilled and have the childlike sense of ignorant bliss they once shared, and will incessantly whine and complain instead of moving on and trying to create it for themselves. Don't get me wrong: I want this too. But maybe because I'm surrounded by hypocritical people who can tell me to live logically I've convinced myself that there's no room for emotional logic (or whatever it is). Once I get enough money, and a Shiba Inu I'm logging off from society.