#embodying teachings

[compassionmattersmost]

Exploring the Deeper Meanings of Jesus’ Teachings: A Mystical Perspective

In today’s world, spiritual teachings often face the challenge of being understood in their deeper, more mystical sense rather than just their literal interpretation. This post seeks to explore the profound insights embedded in Jesus’ teachings, especially His statements about being the gate, the light, the truth, and the way, and to compare these with the principles of Advaita Vedanta, which…

[cutekoala1001]

You see here, kid

You gotta just go for it.

You just gotta bend your knees, take a deep breath and jump.

And you might think, What if I fall?

Well, what if you don’t? What if you fly?

[discordiansamba]

some more thoughts about the aoex fantasy au in no particular order!

rin teaches himself to cook out of a mixture of boredom and necessity (because shura doesn't really know how to and there's not really much to do around the manor).

shura sees how bored out of his mind this kid is and teaches him swordplay sometimes. at first her duty is one that she does begrudgingly, but over the years she develops a real soft spot for rin.

her relationship with rinka is initially much more antagonistic, but eventually she starts seeing through rinka's facade.

rinka has a natural inclination towards violence, and struggles to be kind to others. on the surface this doesn't bother him- he's a demon, so why should he bother being kind? but the truth is, he's always been envious of rin and how naturally it comes to him.

rin loathes rinka, regarding him as the reason everything in his life has gone so wrong- if he were normal, if he weren't burdened with demon blood and dual hearts, maybe he could live a normal life. he tries to separate himself from his demonic heritage.

rin appears as an ordinary human- save for the small horns and the core of red in his pupils. rinka looks much more demonic- with white-blue hair, fangs, claws and a tail to go with his pointed ears and even larger horns.

at first, rinka wants to scare shiemi, to ruin the good thing she has going on with rin. this obviously does not work, and he realizes that he's in love with her, actually- the same way rin is.

rinka is a lot more forward about his feelings, lol.

shiemi, peering intensely at rin's backside after she meets rinka for the first time, but she's really just trying to determine if he's hiding a tail too.

shiemi is already a friend of suguro, konekomaru and shima, so when she starts disappearing for hours at a time in the forest, they naturally get worried about her and decide to follow her. they're not prepared to stumble upon the mansion of rumors.

if anything, they have a slightly more normal initial reaction to meeting rin (a clearly half demon boy) than shiemi does, lol. but shiemi insists that rin is her friend, and that he's not hurting anyone by being here! how can he, when he never leaves?

and honestly? once they actually talk to him, rin's... not that scary, actually. he's actually really friendly- and the food he makes them is great! they don't associate him with the demon from the rumors- the son of the demon king, satan.

...at least, not until they meet rinka.

(the meeting does not go as well as shiemi's first meeting with rinka. she's not there to mediate, and rinka is more than happy to chase away rin's new human friends. why should he get to be happy?)

suguro's just pissed that neither rin nor shiemi told him anything about what he was going through. he thought they were supposed to be friends!?

rin: huh? that's why you're mad at me!?

suguro: of course! what other reason would there be?

speaking of curses. shima is the inheritor of his family's own blood curse, the result of the contract made with the demon yamantaka. in exchange for being able to utilize its powers, it can freely use shima as his vessel whenever it wants.

(so, suffice to say, suguro and konekomaru are both already a little bit used to their friend sometimes not being their friend)

suguro is not the least bit afraid of picking fights with rinka, lmao.

when the village is threatened by the impure king, shiemi convinces rinka that it's in his best interest to use his flames to help save everyone. for the first time since he arrived, rinka leaves the manor and heads into the village-

-but on the way there, his heart swaps places with rin's.

rin stares down the impure king, who threatens all of his friends and finally unlocks the seal on his own flames. he's spent all of his life running away from his own heritage, but he's just used that very heritage to save everyone.

yukio arrives after hearing word of the impure king, just in time to see the demon engulfed by blue flames. he races into the village, but finds that it's unburnt, and no one has been harmed. where he expects to find rinka, he finds rin instead.

rin tells yukio that maybe he needs stop running away from what he is. yukio doesn't understand. once you're separated from rinka, you'll be normal nii-san. you'll be a proper human.

from yukio's perspective, it looks like rin is being gradually corrupted by his demon half. he lashes out at shura for letting people into the manor other than him, because clearly they've been influencing rin in a negative way.

shura just stares at him like. yukio. can't you see that rin is happy for once? i thought that would matter to you the most, four eyes. yukio glares at her and tells her that if she's not going to properly protect rin, that he'll do it himself.

rin just tells him he's not leaving. sorry, yukio.

(or: while rin and rinka are both slowly beginning to accept themselves, yukio has a certain someone whispering poisonous lies into his ears...)

[vroomvroomwee]

There's something so heartwarming about having Stede be his openly joyous queer self and not have that be a bad thing.

I know I know, it's the bare minimum yeah yeah. But my point stands because you don't see it anywhere else (except good omens). And it's wonderful because this character has no shits to give about how others might perceive his flamboyance, even when they, like Izzy or the Badmintons, openly mock him for it. He's found a safe space to be, and he knows he's free to express his true self. He's jolly, he's extravagant, he's posh, he's sweet, he's squeaky, he's gentle, he's exuberant, he's considerate, he's soft, and it's never framed as a negative trait.

And on top of all that, you almost NEVER see characters like that who behave in a way society will call "weak" for a "man" and have them not only be the main protagonist mind you, but also be resourceful, capable, confident, strong, resilient, determined and overall amazing (he's a bloody idiot but he's also brilliant as shit).

I know stuff like this has been said, especially for Aziraphale, but I can't stress enough how refreshing it is to see someone, a human, who has no powers to keep him safe, who's so obviously queer, and have that just be a part of their personality and not their whole defining characteristic. To have someone so freely effeminate and have them be respected

[bound-hyacinth]

just met this really cute inexperienced sub that is filling my head with ideas of servicing a dom together, with me teaching them how to do everything.

Like, "okay, and now you take it in your mouth. Yep, just like that, good job pup! Keep going!" And "okay, its gonna hurt but I know you can be good for us hun. Just breath in and out, and look its going in so well!"

Anyways. Any doms want worshipping from 2 eager mouths? :3

[dotsayers]

emailed famous translator and professor emily wilson today through her website contact form, racked with agonies over wording it politely so she would agree to read my class's persuasive letters.

she replied 'Sure!'

[queer-benoit-blanc]

I am so so normal about Dionysus and Pentheus.

[fallen-white-rose-petals]

Philosophy is essential for enlightenment

I think philosophy aka the love of wisdom is essential to enlightenment, because philosophy breaks down the concepts, where it's easier for the mind to eventually let go of the concepts and attain enlightenment, where it's not just a fleeting sensation, but a pathway one can get into frequently to really understand the power and magnitude of grace. Most people who are Yoga bunnies are great when it comes to the matt, but in daily relationships is where that grace tends to go away, as even in conflict there is strength coming with this grace that possess you to weave neatly between severity and mercy. Also, it's nice to have philosophy because it naturally makes you curious and if you find yourself in a long line or in the traffic, it's not a problem, because you have many thinkers to think about to pass the time, and by trying to understand where they coming from you expand this practise to all the relationships you have and by nature you tend to make less enemies and people respect you, because most people ask one question to then talk about themselves and by you just showing more interest in them naturally because philosophy is caring about what other people think, people find you refreshing and are a bit scared of you at the same time, because they know that you know that you are piercing through their mask. So, people who are inauthentic tend to avoid you and make excuses, unless they are also on the path of self-enquiry and have made that commitment. Enlightenment doesn't have a style or an aesthetic, but it shines in moments that come out of the blue. Some who experience deep sorrow and heartache touch it for the first time and in their despair show a divine resilience that you never knew they had, where you see a person's true strength for the first time. Other times in could be in a time of war where one man decides to sacrifice himself and stay behind for the squad's survival by distracting the enemy to give his allies time to escape. There are times when the divine hits us and its normally in intense confrontational episodes, where we are required to be greater than ourselves. So don't be alarmed when you seek truth for truth to put you in very testing limitations and often slap bang in the middle of what is going on. Between polarities - enlightenment. #enlightenment #truth #wisdom #philosophy #relationship #spirituality #occult #hermeticism #selfenquiry #embodiment #yoga #teaching #authenticity

[ladyxxdaydream]

some of my fics were so lovingly translated into Russian several years ago, and somehow I never ended up going to the page to poke around. Well I did last week...and there was 926 comments on IFIYD. 48 PAGES. KSDHGLS Granted, the translator was also replying to many of the comments too but it was still A LOT, and very fun to read, able it a sort of strange experience. I read them all, and was so, so touched.

This one made me feel proud of my story, despite wishing I could have written it better.. wondering if i went too overboard with the angst now LMAO but i was writing from a place of deep experience back then; such was my reality. Makes me feel good that the overall message still came through. I've been a bit intimidated, writing it again, so it served as a much needed boost. I wanted to put it here as a keepsake.. as part of my own archive to revisit, since it wasn't left on my own ao3 but on the translator's page.

Thank you, you beautiful person. For understanding what I was trying to do (and say) so well. 💗

[gibbearish]

its occuring to me what specifically it is that therapists go to therapy for

[telatire]

Good news! All the fics but One have a title! And for the fourth day, a title will come up fairly easy, I'm sure. Bad news! I'm losing sleep over this!

[itspileofgoodthings]

on another but related note, I love watching students react to Jennifer Ehle’s Elizabeth because she’s beautiful, truly, but she’s also real person beautiful not supermodel beautiful or Instagram filtered beautiful and as teenagers they do have their petty not at all valid but not at all their fault reaction to her kind of beauty, to the reality of it, where they rebel against even having to look at a Real Woman for a second (because the indoctrination and propoganda they have flooded into their brains every day is actually that bad and that damaging that looking at a gorgeous but still real 24 year old Jennifer Ehle makes their brains go on the fritz for a second) and then she and the story win them over. On the whole at least. And they have that moment of experiencing art meeting reality and discovering that it’s good. And I LOVE that.

[vyragosa]

ok but i'm seriously going to lose my fucking mind if, we still don't have seimei but seimei's descendant and douman's ANCESTOR could potentially, be fucking, what part of this is not deranged

[gonguji]

another  lil  hc!           whilst  I  do  like  all  depiction  of  Kabukimono  (  canonic  &&  fandom  ) ,    I  think  rendering  him  as  not  knowing  how  to  do  anything ,  how  the  world  of  humans  work  at  all ,  or  making  him  beyond  clueless  is  a  bit  too  popular .      I  much  prefer  him  to  had  been  trained   by  Ei ,  lectured  about  the  art  of  performance  such  as  kenbushido . . .    he  canonically  has  memories  with  Ei  &&  Yae ,  even  wears  reisō  (  white  attire  for  shintō  purification  rituals  )  signifying  his  affiliation  with  the  Grand  Narukami  Shrine .        he  had  the  entire  Shakkei  Pavillion  to  himself  with  all  the  equipment  inside ,  with  no  servants  nor  guards  so  he  was  most  likely  awaiting  the  day  his  mothers  would  return .        I  firmly  believe  he  was  preparing  each  day  to  properly  greet  them,  which  also  requires  basic  skills .

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

I referred to them as a jury because even though they don’t vote they seem to expect to have some sway over the proceedings and serve as a bit of a peanut gallery, but yeah— the judge is trying to pass as fully hearing, quasi’s given up on passing entirely, and the conversation devolves into nonsense because the judge won’t just swallow his pride and try some other means of communication (if he did, maybe quasi could have told him “hey, my dad Archdeacon Frollo told me to do it and he said it was completely legit, so” and the whole plot could have been avoided!)

I wanted to keep phoebus’s rancidness a surprise but you’re so right. And he SHOWS UP TO THE EXECUTION. AND PEOPLE SEE HIM. LIKE.

“a little while ago we lost our beloved Captain, Phoebus”

“QUIT TELLING EVERYONE I’M DEAD”

“sometimes we can still hear his voice”

book!phoebus SUCKS and we all HATE HIS HOLE. Esmeralda deserves better than being led on by a man who’s already engaged!

Things that actually happen in hunchback of notre dame, in no particular order

The book mostly is told from the POV of Pierre, a self-insert who is failed author and, I cannot stress this enough, utterly pathetic 

Quasimodo damaged his hearing as a teenager from years of bell ringing and now uses sign language whenever he can

There is a scene where Quasimodo and a fellow deaf guy have to have a conversation without using sign language because they’re in a courtroom and the jury doesn’t know sign. It goes about as well as you’d expect 

Frollo has a little brother, Jehan, who he raised after their parents died. Jehan is now a frat bro in college whose hobbies consist of getting drunk and being mean to Quasimodo. In his first scene Jehan complains about college DEI because an Italian guy got a scholarship he wanted. 

Esmeralda is accused of witchcraft because she taught her pet goat Djali how to do math

Djali may or may not be sapient. He can and does imitate human mannerisms to make fun of people on purpose. He does this while on trial. 

Yes. They tried the goat for witchcraft, too. 

Pierre writes a whole play riding on the pun of dolphin/Dauphin. Nobody likes it. 

Frollo is an alchemist and has a secret mad science lab where he writes on the walls

Jehan literally pulls a “buy my silence” and frollo gives him money to make him shut up

There’s a trio of catty girls who bully Esmeralda like it’s Mean Girls

Quasimodo and Frollo literally have Cryptid Status— Parisians circulate rumors that Quasimodo is either a familiar, a homunculus, or the result of demonic mpreg, and that Frollo is a wizard with wizard powers and/or a ghost

There is a little old woman who lives in a hole and shouts slurs at people. She has a tragic backstory. 

There is a homicidal con man/king of thieves named Clopin Troillefou (surname translation: The Fool of Fear) who deserves tumblr sexymanhood.

Pierre learns how to carry chairs with his teeth 

There’s an entire chapter dedicated to the layout of the streets of Paris in painstaking detail

There’s another chapter that is a rant about interior design 

Esmeralda and Pierre get platonically married due to Clopin’s murderous shenanigans. Pierre tries to make a move in her but ends up being more emotionally attached to Djali the goat than to her. I think that should be grounds for divorce

There is a scene where Pierre has to choose between helping Esmeralda escape or helping Djali. He picks Djali. 

Frollo hides from his own brother by laying face down in mud and playing dead. Somehow this works 

There is a Plot Significant Tiny Shoe. A Tiny Shoe Chekhov’s Gun. And Victor Hugo will not stop telling you just how Tiny this shoe is. 

There’s a soap opera style plot twist that involves a false accusation of cannibalism and the woman in the hole who shouts slurs

Quasimodo makes up a stupid little song that doesn’t even rhyme to confess his love to Esmeralda, who remains oblivious

He then attempts to demonstrate his affection via convoluted metaphors that involve props. She doesn’t get it. Boy please say what you mean

Frollo pulls the classic discord groomer tactic of threatening self-harm if Esmeralda doesn’t give in. 

Jehan rolls up to a party/rescue mission scheming session in Clopin’s secret hideout in full plate armor (how did he get that???), drunk off his ass, and acts like he owns the place. Everyone finds this so ridiculous that they just let him

Hugo goes on and on about how innocent and naive Esmeralda is but then casually reveals that Esmeralda carries a dagger on her person at all times to fend off assault. When Frollo attacks her and Quasi intervenes, she takes Quasi’s knife and almost kills Frollo (fair!) but he flees. She contains multitudes?

Frollo has a psychotic breakdown in the middle of a field surrounded by chickens and hallucinates skeletons everywhere 

For the first half of the book Esmeralda is like 70% sure Frollo is a ghost, not helped by his aforementioned Cryptid Status

Jehan eats a moldy piece of cheese off the ground 

Frollo tries to send Pierre on a suicide mission in drag. Pierre objects to the suicide part but not the drag part  

Clopin’s preferred weapon is a scythe, he’s very good at using it, and he sings when he fights. Again: sexyman potential. 

Victor Hugo has a foot fetish. I initially dismissed it as Frollo having a foot fetish until Victor Hugo included a foot fetish torture scene without any Frollo in it. So I can only conclude that the foot fetish is authorial in nature. Unfortunately the foot scenes are important to the plot. 

Frollo is canonically 36, he just aged like shit and is bald. The narrator will not stop telling you just how bald he is.

Despite being in full plate armor, Jehan gets splatted like a bug

Almost every named character dies. Djali the goat lives. 

[artbysalkis]

“Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”