#which is that agreeing with a religion's ethics or finding an aspect of it beautiful

[a-chilleus]

.

[flirting-with-psychology]

100 good questions to ask your friends at 4:02 am when you can’t sleep (can also function as an asks list)

Are you bothered by your cosmic insignificance? Maybe just a little bit

Do you mourn for a place or person you’ve never known? I mourn for the college experience I didn’t quite manage to have, and for the utopian life from the end of The Good Place that is impossible to get in real life

Do you really think there is somebody for everybody? Hopefully

Do you place any value in gender roles? Anyone can do whatever they want but I do associate some things with gender

Do you have to be related to be family? I don’t consider non-relatives my family

Are your platonic relationships just as valuable as romantic or family ones? I have always put a lot of weight on romantic relationships

Are you in love? Do you want to be? Not quite but I want to be

Do you think you can put love into categories (family, platonic, romantic, etc.) or is it just one general sensation? I can put it into categories

Would you be happy with a life without romance? No

Are you always going to be a little in love with somebody? Yes, probably Captain and Candy Cane

Would you change your appearance if you could? Yes, but not surgically

Do you have the feeling you’ve lost something you might have had in another life - whether it be a person, a place, a world, a language, etc.? I feel like I could have had a different life experience if I was born a decade or two sooner

Do you believe in reincarnation? No but I wish I did, there are definitely things I want a second chance at

Would you want to be reincarnated? Yes

Do you think you’re special, or just another person amongst billions? Can you be both? I would like to be special but probably not

Do theoretical ethical debates have any value? Is it important people discuss ethical dilemmas, e.g. the trolley problem? Yes, they are interesting and can often lead to real-life scenarios

Did you have imaginary friends? Do you still have them? I did when I was a kid. I still like to make up characters but I don’t consider them imaginary friends

Are you religious? Do you think your religion is ‘correct’? I am not religious, and I think it is most likely that there is no god or spiritual force

If you aren’t religious, do you wish you were? Why? I don’t really wish I were but sometimes I can understand the desire to believe your life will have a guaranteed happy ending

Do you want a grand adventure? Yes

Do you have somebody, whether it be a friend or stranger, who you think you could have loved if the circumstances were different? Yes

How long does it take you to fall in love with somebody?Is the sensation of ‘falling in love’ or ‘being in love’ better? I’m not sure where exactly like turns into love, and I have never experienced being in love in a relationship

Is love about convenience or something more? Can it be about both? It would have to be about more than just convenience

Do you think you really understand your gender and sexuality? I have not really questioned it much. I am a cis girl and I am happy being a girl, but I think if I were born a boy I would probably be happy being a boy too. I am mostly straight but maybe just a little bit bi, although I don’t think I would have romantic feelings for a girl

How fluid is your concept of gender and sexuality? Not too fluid but idk

What’s the most life-changing choice you’ve made so far? Probably where to go to college

Are you afraid of growing old? Yes

Would you want to live forever? How about for a billion years, a million, a millennium, a century? I think I would get tired and lonely living forever, but a few centuries would give me enough time to try things

Do you believe in some form of god/s? No

Are your choices fated or of your own free will? Free will

Do you have a hunch about how you’re going to die? Lately I’ve been fearing dying of covid, but hopefully not

Do you believe in star signs? No

How old do you have to be to be considered an adult? Legally 18, socially probably like 30

Was your childhood happy? I think so

What are you missing from your life? A passion

Have you ever met someone who had a very similar personality to your own? Did you get along? Not any more so than regular friends

Do opposites attract? Not really

Is your life what you expected it would be five years ago? No, even if you take out the pandemic I still thought I would be doing something interesting with my career

Do you know what you want out of life? No

What makes a person ‘good’? Are you a ‘good person’? I guess if they help people? I would not necessarily say I am a very good person but I think I am more good than bad

What fundamentally matters do you? Love and fun

Is freewill an illusion? Not spiritually, but maybe capitalistically

Do you create art? How do you define art? I make jewelry and other crafts, and videos. Art is stuff that is there to be entertaining or beautiful, rather than just utilitarian

How often do you lie? Is all lying inherently bad? Are you generally truthful? I rarely lie and I usually disapprove of lying but in some cases it can be ok

Do you want to be remembered after your death? What for? Something I create

Is true world peace ever possible? Idk. Not looking like it

Do you have to suffer to truly understand the human condition? What is the human condition? How can you really experience it? Who the fuck knows. Everyone experiences things differently, even if you suffer the same thing

Are you free? Will you ever be? Can anyone be truly free? I am legally free but not free of capitalism

Do you hold yourself to higher standards than you hold others? Yes

What do you expect from a friend or partner? Someone with a sense of humor who is easy to talk to, and romantic for a partner

What question could you ask to find out the most about a person? No idea

Do you justify all your beliefs or have you just inherited/absorbed some? I’m sure I have abosrbed some

Which beliefs do you have that is most likely to be wrong? Idk maybe still supporting Harry Potter even though I don’t agree with JK Rowling’s anti-trans beliefs

Can human really understand the complete nature of the universe, space and time? No

Is a conscious what makes someone a person? Probably

What do you think about artificial intelligence? It’s kinda cool but I don’t understand how it works

Do you thinks humans are obsessed with escapism (books, video games, movies, etc.)? Are you looking for an escape? Do you think that’s a bad thing? Yes but it’s not a bad thing

Are we eventually going to ‘run out’ of new combinations for music, art, language, etc.? Is there a limit to human creativity? I doubt it

What do you think the next era of music will be like? Who knows, I barely even listen to this era

What do you think the next era of fashion will be like? Masks will be incorporated into it

Do we live in tumultuous times, or do they just seem so strange because we’re living in them? It’s hard to say

Would you want to meet a clone of yourself? Would you like them? No, and I probably wouldn’t

How confident are you, really? Not very

How consistent is your perception of time? Not very

What age should people be allowed to vote? Should children and teenagers be allowed to vote? 18 is probably a good age, I think it’s hard to make an informed decision as a kid. I know I would either want whoever my parents wanted or whoever was more attractive

How do you feel about the idea ‘an eye for an eye’? Probably not a good idea in general

What’s the worse thing a person can be? A murderer

How do you feel about monogamy? I would like to have it

Can you be in love with someone and still fall in love with someone else? Probably

What’s the tragedy of your life? Losing all my potential

Would your life make a good play? No it would be hella boring

Should people be prosecuted for crimes that weren’t considered crimes at the time? No

Would you fight for your country? Do you feel a sense of loyalty to your nation? I feel some loyalty I guess because it’s home, but I would not fight

Do you believe in gender equality in every aspect? I believe in equal opportunities but not forcing people to act a certain way

Do we have a moral obligation to care for others? To what extent? I think as a society we need to take care of people and probably set up government resources to do so, but the specific people who do that should be the ones who feel fulfilled by it

Do you crave approval and/or praise? Yes

Is there comedy in all tragedy and tragedy in all comedy? Idk

Are you ever going to be satisfied? I hope so but knowing me, probably not

When you are sad, do you listen to music that conveys your emotions or music that makes you happy? Music that conveys my emotions

Is your music organised by mood or sensation or do you just listen to everything at any time? Most of the time I just shuffle it but I do have some playlists

Would you marry a friend if they needed you to (e.g. for citizenship)? Probably not

Are you a deep person? Eh

Given the chance to live your life on Mars, with no hope of returning to Earth but with the promise of scientific discovery and glory, would you take it? Not unless there was already an established society on mars with opportunities for entertainment and community interaction

Are you who people think you are? Not really. I think I am more extroverted than people think (even though I’m really an ambivert), and a lot of people think I should do sales or customer service which I hate even though I’m ok at them

Do you think you would be happier if you had been born a different gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality or religion? I might be happier if I was a boy, but only if I was an outgoing boy. And I might be happier if I was in one of those happier-on-average countries

What’s your toxic trait? Are you trying to improve yourself and fix it? My toxic traits are stubbornnes, procrastination, and lack of motivation, which are by nature extremely hard to work on

Do you anger easily? Maybe a little but I also let go of it easily

Are you a jealous person? Yes

If you lost all your memories, would you have the same personality? I assume not

Given the chance to reset your life (with none of the knowledge you currently have), would you take it? Maybe

Is hate as strong as love? Who do you hate? No. I hate Mitch McConnell

Do you speak multiple languages? Which do you dream in? What language would you want to learn? I only speak a little french and italian, I am not fluent. I dream in English. I might want to learn Gaelic

Do you draw meaning from your dreams, or do you disregard them? Sometimes I draw meaning

How would you describe yourself when you love? Do you love forcefully, unconditionally, gently, quietly, desperately? Probably desperately lol

Is unrequited love real love? I think so

Is your perception of yourself similar or the same to how others perceive you? Idk

Are you overly analytical? Yes

Do you ever feel that you are really a terrible person, and only act good out of societal or some other obligation? Occasionally

Do you believe in magic? Are you superstitious? No, but I wish it was real

What belief do you have that isn’t logically grounded, but you still firmly believe in? That I’ll end up with an interesting or exceptional life. Idk if I firmly believe it but I would like to believe it, because the alternative is depressing

[longsightmyth]

Chapter-by-Chapter, The Riddle, Chapter 3

The Riddle

Chapter 3 is titled ‘The Broken Promise’ so we’ll see where that goes.

Maerad sits in the garden outside her room, reflecting on how nice it is to be clean and warm, and listens to the birds.

Birds, she thought, are so brainless. All they say is Mine! Mine! Mine!

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 36). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

First of all, I needed that laugh. Second of all, birds are dinosaurs Maerad and they will kill you and fight over your corpse. Ahem.

She starts worrying about everything because she can sit still and think now.

But now she had a little peace, all these disturbing thoughts bubbled up inside her. Was she any closer to knowing who she was? She had all these new names — once she had been only Maerad, then she was Maerad of Pellinor, and now she was Elednor of Edil-Amarandh, the Fire Lily come to resist the Dark — but what did they really mean? And now she was on a quest, charged to find the Treesong. From the voice in her foredreams, she and Cadvan had decided that they must head north, but here, in this pretty garden, it seemed like the flimsiest of reasons. And what were they looking for? Even Nelac didn’t know. 

What are you? she asked herself, echoing Nerili’s question of the night before. A freak?

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (pp. 36-37). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Cadvan comes in a while later and and asks if the coffee is still hot, explaining that it’s a drink from the Suderain and difficult to get outside of Busk and, well, the Suderain. He says that they’ll stay in Busk for a few weeks for rest and research purposes.

I’m going to have a good look through the Busk Library — it’s the most ancient in Edil-Amarandh, except perhaps for the one in Turbansk — and try and find some clue.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 37). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

(I have Things to Say, re: the difference in treatment of libraries in Pellinor and ToG)

Cadvan says if they can find a clue in Busk, whose libraries were amongst the few not sacked and burned during the Great Silence by way of being stubborn af and having an ocean, then maybe this whole thing will seem like less of a goose chase. Maerad, who has actually herded geese, finds some humor in that. She says while he researches she’ll sit in the garden and chill.

“No, you won’t,” said Cadvan. “You can use the time to study. There’s so much that you should know, and there are things that it’s dangerous not to know. You really need years to catch up, but we’ll have to make do. I’ve spoken to Nerili about it — she’s agreed to let you have private teaching, so you don’t have to sit in classes with children half your age. You have particular needs, anyway.” 

“But I want a rest,” she said mulishly. “I’m tired.” 

“And a rest you shall have. For two days. It will take me that long to arrange your lessons. You’ll need some beginner’s instruction in High Magery, which is a bit peculiar, because you have all the abilities, and more, of a full Bard, but you’ve never done the basic lessons. I’ll have to think about who is best to teach you. Me, probably, but I’ll be busy. And, of course, there’s swordcraft, and reading and writing. You’re quick; you’ll use your time well.” 

Maerad pouted, but made no other protest. The prospect of resuming study excited her, but she wasn’t going to tell Cadvan that. For all her powers, she was painfully aware that she had very little skill.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 38). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Maerad gets to experience the life of a regular Bard for the first time in Busk. 

The days settled into a steady pattern: rising at dawn for breakfast, and lessons until the middle of the afternoon, with a short break for a light midday meal. After that, if she didn’t have further study to do, her time was her own; she was free to go back to her room and rest, or to sit in the garden, or to wander down to the town and the markets of Busk, or, as she began to do more and more often after her first week, to join the noisy Bards in their colloquia. She usually ate dinner with Cadvan, either in the Common Hall or in one or other of their rooms, where they would swap news about their day: what Maerad had learned (a voracious amount) or what Cadvan had found (nothing). Or they would wander down to the lower town to meet Owan. They would eat either in one of the many taverns or at his house, which was surprisingly big for a humble fisherman, cementing what had become a fast friendship.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (pp. 38-39). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Maerad’s instruction with Mirlad back at the cot, where she was expected to learn everything by ear and after the first time, means Maerad has excellent retention.

But more than that, she seemed to have an innate knowledge of Barding, which her teachers merely had to reawaken. They all commented privately on this to Cadvan; they found her aptitude a little unnerving.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 39). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

In the more advanced or specialized aspects of bardery, Maerad is mostly taught by the first circle for reasons of discretion (Cadvan is too well known to really hide his identity, but Maerad goes by Maerad of Innail to most people). This means Nerili is her instructor for High Magery.

Cadvan further explains that it’s not so much that nobody in Busk will figure out that she’s Maerad of Pellinor (Bards are smart, there was a lot of hullabaloo about the supposed only survivor of Pellinor, there was more hullabaloo about Cadvan being her only official instructor, etc etc), but going by Maerad of Innail gives an unspoken signal to the Bards that they should be Discrete without having to make a big fuss about it. I really wish we were on Queen of Shadows so I could discuss Super Secret Identities and the Viability Thereof, but alas. We’ll get there eventually.

Her instructor in advanced reading is Intatha of Gent, Dernhil’s school, so Maerad thinks a little sadly of him at first and never manages to make herself ask if Intatha knew him. Maerad gets started on a couple of other writing systems (including the runes Bards leave only for each other and some Dhyllic pictograms). With Elenxi she learns more swordwork and some unarmed self defense. Elenxi also takes Maerad to a Bard gathering where at first she is overwhelmed as all the Bards start asking her questions about Innail in Thoroldian. Elenxi rescuses her by reminding everybody that she’s a young Bard, she hasn’t been in Innail for months, and also she doesn’t speak Thorolodian much at all. Everyone promptly switches to the Speech which has the added benefit of everybody being unable to lie anyway so that’s fun. One of the Bards has an instrument similar to a guitar, and Maerad asks him how to play it, which takes up the rest of the party. 

The most demanding studies were those in High Magery. This was something Maerad had never studied formally, although Cadvan had taught her much on their travels together. She went to Nerili’s rooms for her first lesson with a strange reluctance; she hadn’t spoken to the First Bard since the night she had arrived in Busk, and she felt apprehensive, as if she would not know what to say. Nerili took care to put her at her ease.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 43). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Maerad feels awkward around Nerili because Nerili is beautiful, skilled, and competent, and when Nerili gently teases her about how strange it is to teach somebody who has already killed demons and shit Maerad gets embarrassed and mumbles that she doesn’t know how she did it.

“So I understand. Well, we will just have to feel strange about it, no? I’m sure that will disappear once we start working.” 

And so, Maerad found, it did.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 44). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Through Maerad we also get to learn more about Bard religion, essentially. It’s not called that, and it’s couched in the ethics of using magic, but - oh, here.

It had evolved over many centuries and was centered on the idea of the Balance. The more she learned about these things, the more Maerad wondered that Bards did magic at all: it seemed that drawing on her powers was fraught with responsibilities and implications, and that in most cases Bards practiced their powers in order not to use them. Often, in those days, she thought uneasily of the times when her powers had exploded out of her, uncontrollable and terrifying, and of the wild exhilaration she had felt when she had finally come into the Speech. Serious magery, she learned, was something practiced seldom and only in great need. The Balance was a delicate thing, and the smallest action could have unexpected and unintended consequences. Bards who had turned to the Dark, the Hulls, were those who desired power above all else and eschewed the responsibilities of the Balance.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (pp. 44-45). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Nerili says that the trouble with the idea in practical terms is that Bards who turn to the Dark don’t have the same inhibitions, which makes it difficult to fight them. Dark Bards (not hulls? maybe hulls? are they the same thing? I have questions!) like to say that it makes regular Bards weak, but Nerili points out that thus far they’ve managed to keep a balance going despite that so regular Bards aren’t half bad. She also says that falling prey to that kind of thinking means you become like the Dark Bards, and,

“that would be the greater defeat.”

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 45). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Maerad, as basically all talented students do, immediately begins to question the limitations on her power and thinks about how though she feels badly about killing it has saved her life in the past:

Yet, she thought, there might come a time when the Light couldn’t afford such niceties.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 45). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Maerad is obviously being set up for a narrative lesson here, because in Pellinor the main character is allowed to be wrong and sit in her wrongness. Nerili specifically mentioned defending yourself and others as acceptable use of bardic gifts. It is Maerad who isn’t listening hard enough, and takes it to mean No Killing Ever instead of Please Consider That Killing Should Not Be The First Solution And Often Isn’t The Best, and also Please Consider The Consequences of Your Magic Power Use On Others.

Nerili adds that there is a certain kind of power all its own in renouncing Phenomenal Cosmic Power, because it means the power doesn’t control you. She continues that “those who love truly do not desire power” which I don’t actually agree with but will accept as Nerili interpreting the Way of the Heart. (I also think it’s a silly name, apologies to the author but yeah)

The Dark doesn’t understand love or that power might not be your greatest ambition, that’s why they lose, etc etc.

“Love is never easy,” said Nerili. “We begin by loving the things we can, according to our stature. But it is not long before we find that what we love is other than ourselves, and that our love is no protection against being wounded. Do we then seek to dominate what we love, to make it bend to our will, to stop it from hurting us, even though to do so is to betray love? And that is only where the difficulty begins.” She turned to Maerad, smiling a little sadly, but Maerad didn’t respond: she felt too surprised. For a moment she was sure that Nerili was speaking of her own feelings for Cadvan, and that she was aware, too, of the tangle of Maerad’s emotions and sought, obscurely, to comfort her.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 46). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

They move on, and Nerili teaches Maerad actual spells and stuff, one of which is essentially putting images into another Bard’s mind (with the other Bard’s consent). Nerili shows Maerad the Tree of Light as Nerili sees it and presents it at Midsummer, but says that Maerad’s will look different if she ever does the Midsummer tree presentation because everyone’s tree is different. She asks Maerad to show her something, and Maerad first thinks of the wight but Nerili tells her no creatures of the dark in this house please.

My memories are full of horror, Maerad thought. I can’t help it. Obediently she pushed the wight out of her mind and cast about for another image. Gradually, shimmering a little, the figure of a woman appeared in the room, facing away from them. She was dressed in white robes, and her long dark hair fell unbound down her back. Slowly she turned to look at the two Bards. Her face was full of sadness.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 47). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Nerili recognizes her as Milana and thanks Maerad for showing her mother to her.

She didn’t know why she had shown Nerili her mother, and she now wished she hadn’t. Nerili took her hand, and Maerad jumped. If she had said anything to her, Maerad might have started crying, but they just sat wordlessly for a while, until Maerad collected herself. 

“Magery, even the slightest, calls on the deepest parts of ourselves,” Nerili said at last, releasing her hand. “And often that is painful. It is the pain of being in the world, where so much that is fair passes into death and forgetfulness. But if we are to know joy, we must embrace that pain. You cannot have one without the other.” 

Maerad nodded, her face downcast. Sometimes, it seemed to her, the pain far outweighed the joy.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 48). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Thus begins Maerad’s depression spiral, though that’s not super evident until later.

Emissaries arrive from Norloch, calling for the delivery of Maerad and Cadvan. Nerili meets them politely and sends them off to Ghent before she calls a full council of all the First and Second circles and also Maerad and Cadvan. Maerad is surprised when they arrive to see some nonBards there as part of the Circles, including their friend Owan. 

Nerili calls everybody to order, informs them of Norloch’s demands and the news that Nelac, among others, has been arrested for treason. Enkir has decided he’s going to be High King over all the seven kingdoms and the Bards. Enkir also sends news that Turbansk will be attacked sometime in the next three months by the forces of the Dark, and he therefore wants every bard and kingdom to give him undivided fealty so they can combat the menace. Maerad is immediately worried about Hem and Saliman (admittedly Hem especially) but consoles herself that an attack doesn’t mean immediate death. Nerili continues,

“And he gave me to understand, in not so many words, that to choose rebellion, and thus to earn the enmity of Norloch, would be to risk the full wrath of Norloch’s might and power.” The final statement nearly caused a riot.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 50). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Nerili relays that she told the emissary that such a thing had never been done: even when there were kings in Annar, nobody swore absolute fealty to them, and moreover each nation still had its own laws.

“And he said to me, ‘Nerili of Busk, things change. We have entered dangerous times, and if we are to survive them, we must change our free ways. Thoroldians must obey the new laws or be the victims of them.’ Such is the edict of Enkir of Norloch.”

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 50). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

I am legitimately unsure if this man realized which First Bard and by extension which School he was talking to. This is the school that has historically told would-be conquerors to go fuck themselves, probably in that many words. I guess Norloch’s sexism is biting them in the ass here too.

Anyway, the Bards are like ‘please tell us you literally physically kicked his ass before literally physically kicking him into the harbor’ but Nerili firmly tells them that no she did not: she doesn’t want to go to war because she was insulted, especially when they all know that another war is on the horizon, especially because they don’t know how many Schools have knuckled under.

Elenxi says that was smart, and also says that they should offer Norloch their fealty - or rather, reiterate the old oath of fealty, ie, to the Light, which Norloch is generally understood to be the representative of. That oath has the benefit of allowing them to retain their own laws and independence as they always have. 

“If Norloch doesn’t like it, Norloch has to say on what terms our fealty is unsatisfactory. This will take a little time, since we have broken no promises.”

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 51). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

He also says they should feel out other Schools to figure out which ones have sworn, which ones swore under duress, and which ones said ‘fuck you’ so they can all have the lay of the land. During that time, and while Norloch sorts out the particulars, Busk should step up their defenses and training so when Norloch gets tired of being polite Busk can kick their ass if they try anything.

This strategy is so sound and so politically savvy that I, someone who has been subjecting herself to Throne of Glass for who knows how long at this point, stared at the page in blank astonishment. Y’all. This is my happy place.

After the councils agree to Elenxi’s strategy, Nerili brings up the part where Norloch wants them to hand over Maerad and Cadvan if they find them, because Norloch doesn’t know where they are. Nerili vouches for Maerad and Cadvan NOT being enemies of the Light but it almost doesn’t matter.

“I ask you now whether we, as Thoroldians, will hand them over to Norloch, as is ordered. Or do we suffer this risk — to grant haven to Cadvan of Lirigon and Maerad of Pellinor, and risk its punishment?” 

The table erupted again. The mood against Norloch was so ugly that Nerili had no need of persuasive argument: to be declared rebels by Enkir was itself enough to ensure their protection.

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 53). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Nerili says cool beans, then we have to remember to keep them on the down low and ends the meeting. After her official duties are done:

She lifted up her arms, as if in blessing, and said, with a sudden wild joy that sent goose bumps down Maerad’s spine, “My friends — you make me so glad. I expected no less from you. No tyrant will crush the heart of Thorold!”

Croggon, Alison. The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor (Pellinor Series 2) (p. 53). Candlewick Press. Kindle Edition. 

Throne of Glass

Chapters 14-18. Here we go.

14!

Celaena absolutely hated that it took a fair amount of courage to enter the royal library after coming upon that … thing a few nights ago. And more than that, she hated that the encounter had turned her favorite place in the castle into something unknown and possibly deadly.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Okay. 

She thought about Davis all last night and decided to research wyrdmarks and the creepy thing from before in the library.

The size of the place was overwhelming; it was a castle in itself. 

What had that thing been doing here? 

She craned her head back to take in the two upper levels, both bordered with ornate railings. Iron chandeliers cast light and shadow throughout the main chamber in which she stood. She loved this room—loved the scattering of heavy tables and red velvet chairs, and the worn couches sprawled before massive hearths. 

Celaena paused beside the table she had always used when researching the Wyrdmarks—a table at which she’d spent hours with Chaol. 

Three levels that she could see. Plenty of places to hide on all of them—rooms and alcoves and half-crumbling staircases.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Why are there half-crumbling staircases in the library? Whatever. Celaena remembers that Chaol said something about a super secret second underground library and decides that must be where the creepy evil thing is hiding. I posit that in a castle full of secret passageways and rooms including forgotten tombs it could be hiding anywhere, but what do I know.

Celaena goes to a wall and draws an X on a desk with chalk because she says the library will look the same after a while. Is there no organizational system of the books by which you can check where you are, Celaena? 

I do have to ask how large this library is and by extension the castle as a whole - Celaena loses track of time while walking in a straight line before she hits another wall.

She didn’t know how long she’d been walking when she finally hit another wall: a corner. The bookcases here were all carved from ancient wood, their ends shaped into sentries—guards forever protecting the books held between them. It was here that the sconces ran out—and a glance down the back wall of the library revealed utter darkness.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Somebody left a torch next to the last sconce though, so Celaena decides to keep exploring after a moment of dramatic pondering.

Swap to Dorian’s PoV!

Dorian wakes up when the clock chimes, and his breath steams in the air, which he says is weird because all the windows were closed and his door shut. IDK what to tell you Dorian, castles get cold. If you wanted me to go ‘oh wow how weird’ maybe you should have specified that it was unusually cold or that you had a fire going and still the breath steaming happened. Whatever. He’s mad about Celaena being in danger but gets distracted when he thinks he sees a rim of frost that would have outlined his body. When he looks more closely it’s gone.

Back to Celaena’s PoV!

Celaena hears the clock chime too.

She’d been here for three hours. Three hours. The back wall wasn’t like the side wall; it dipped and curved and had closets and alcoves and little study rooms full of mice and dust.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

She’s about to give up when she sees a tapestry, which she says is the first decoration she’s seen on this wall. 

Considering how the last six months of her life had gone, part of her just knew that it had to mean something. 

There was no depiction of Elena, or a stag, or anything lovely and green. 

No; this tapestry, woven from red thread so dark it looked black, depicted … nothing.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

I will admit that that would indeed be a weird tapestry. Anyway behind the tapestry is another secret door, though I would argue that it’s probably a service entrance kept out of immediate eye line so nobody wanders back to stuff eons old parchment scrolls in their pockets, YRENE. (Oh we’ll get there in Tower of Dawn. WE WILL GET THERE).

Celaena finds a thing that lets her pour oil down a long thin trench and light it with her torch so she can see now. The walls are carved with battle scenes that look like they’re actually moving in the firelight.

That’s a cool image actually. Also, one of the most evocative sentences in this whole book to date, showing Celaena’s nerves and that she just doesn’t like it:

She stopped looking at the walls.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena sees an old torch covered with cobwebs and decides it means that nobody has been down here in a long time,

Unless that thing can see in the dark.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

...okay but the dust and dirt and stuff on the floor could maybe also be a clue? Just a thought. Anyway Celaena lights the new torch on the stairway light thingy.

Cobwebs hung from the arched ceiling, grazing over the cobblestone floor. Rickety bookcases lined the halfway, the shelves crammed full of books so worn that Celaena couldn’t read the titles. Scrolls and pieces of parchment were stuffed into every nook and cranny or lay unrolled on the sagging wood, as if someone had just walked away from reading them. Somehow, it was more of a tomb than Elena’s resting place. 

She walked down the corridor, stopping occasionally to examine the scrolls. They were maps and receipts from kings long since turned to dust. 

Castle records. All this walking and fretting, and all you’ve discovered is useless castle records. That’s probably what that creature was after: an ancient king’s grocery bill.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

I mean yeah, like I said it’s probably a service entrance to the stuff not out for other people, like the grocery bill that could let you know how many people were being fed in the castle and the number of guard uniforms ordered that would hint at the size of your force and - oh, sorry, no, apparently there are beautiful carvings of fae on the walls and that’s why it’s definitely a secret passage.

No, the king and his cronies couldn’t know about this place, because they certainly would have defaced these carvings by now. Celaena didn’t need a historian to know that this stairwell was old—far older than the one through which she had just descended, perhaps even older than the castle itself.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

So I don’t know if y’all remember how ToG made a big deal about how Elena was minimized in the legends of Adarlan, but here we have Celaena only considering Gavin.

Why had Gavin picked this site to build his castle? Had there been something here before? 

Or something beneath it worth hiding?

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

A breeze comes up from the bottom of the spiral staircase and it smells like iron, so she follows them to the end. The hall at the bottom is empty of everything save one door. 

The iron door was unremarkable, though undeniably impenetrable. Its studded surface was like a slab of starless sky.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena ponders why the door is made of iron, thee “one element” immune to magic. I want everyone to remember that when we hit Empire of Storms. Apparently for those with strong magic, 

Iron was the one element immune to magic; she remembered that much. There had been so many kinds of magic-wielders ten years ago—people whose power was believed by some to have long ago originated from the gods themselves, despite the King of Adarlan’s claim that magic was an affront to the divine. Wherever it came from, magic had countless variations: abilities to heal, to shape-shift, to summon flame or water or storm, to encourage the growth of crops and plants, to glimpse the future, and on and on. Most of those gifts had been watered down over the millennia, but for some rare strong ones, when they held on to their power too long, the iron in their blood caused fainting spells. Or worse.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena says she’s never seen a door in the palace made all of iron, though she has seen some made of bronze or glass. When she tries to open it it stays shut, and there’s no sign of rust to indicate it rusted shut (though if its hinges are on the other side - I’ll stop, I’m sorry) and no keyhole or lock visible. Then she wonders how the door isn’t rusty if this is an abandoned corridor.

Apparently, though, there is a gap large enough between the door and the wall for Celaena to notice something moving in the dark on the other side.

Okay I’m just going to quote the next move because I don’t have the capacity to describe it.

With absolute silence, she slid the shining dagger under the door. The reflection along the blade revealed nothing but darkness—darkness and torchlight. 

She shifted the dagger, pushing it just a bit farther beneath. 

Two gleaming, green-gold orbs flashed in the shadows beyond. 

She lunged back, swiping the dagger with her, biting down on her lip to keep from cursing aloud. Eyes. Eyes gleaming in the dark—eyes like an … an … 

She sighed through her nose, relaxing slightly. Eyes like an animal. Like a rat. Or a mouse. Or some feral cat. 

Still, she crept forward again, holding her breath as she angled the blade under the door to scan the darkness. 

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

She watched the dagger’s blade for a full minute, waiting for those eyes to reappear. 

But whatever it was had scuttled off.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Apparently the gap is actually very large? And I misunderstood and it was beneath the door, not to the side? That’s my bad.

Celaena decides to decide that it was a rat and says she has no interest in being proven wrong, which is fair, actually. At least that’s the book showing me, via Celaena’s back and forth thoughts, that this is her convincing herself. End chapter.

Chapter 15!

Celaena is not guarding the king tonight and a famous singer (Rena Goldsmith) is performing for Hollin’s return, so instead of eating in her rooms like she usually does Celaena sits in the great hall.

The royal family dined at their table atop the dais in the front of the hall with Perrington, Roland, and a woman who looked like she might be Roland’s mother.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Not his father, the king’s cousin? I only ask because we’ve met so few nobles.

From the other side of the room, Celaena could hardly see little Prince Hollin, but he seemed to be pale, rotund, and blessed with a head full of ebony curls.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Aaaaaaaaaah now we come to it. Hollin is a fat ten year old. That’s why he’s evil. It all makes sense. (I’m not going to say that Pellinor is better about having fat characters exist, but I also don’t recall it being used as a Sign of Corruption)

Chaol and some off-duty guards sit with Celaena and tell funny stories. Chaol teases her about not liking cold floors, and Celaena says he’s the one who complains about them when she beats him up, to which I can only say: footage not found, and believe you me, I looked.

Rena Goldsmith walks in and starts singing accompanied by a harp and a violin. Everyone is spellbound.

Her voice was soft, ethereal, the sound of a lullaby half-remembered. The songs she sang, one by one, held Celaena in place. Songs of distant lands, of forgotten legends, of lovers forever waiting to be reunited.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Rena says she’s going to play a song in honor of the royal family, and FINALLY we get some legend in summary.

This song was an ancient legend—an old poem, actually. One Celaena hadn’t heard since childhood, and never set to music. 

She heard it now as if for the first time: the story of a Fae woman blessed with a horrible, profound power that was sought by kings and lords in every kingdom. While they used her to win wars and conquer nations, they all feared her—and kept their distance. 

It was a bold song to sing; dedicating it to the king’s family was even bolder. But the royals made no outcry. Even the king just stared blankly at Rena as though she weren’t singing about the very power he’d outlawed ten years ago. Perhaps her voice could conquer even a tyrant’s heart. Perhaps there was an unstoppable magic inherent in music and art. 

Rena went on, spinning the ageless story of the years that the Fae woman served those kings and lords, and the loneliness that consumed her bit by bit. And then, one day, a knight came, seeking her power on behalf of his king. As they traveled to his kingdom, his fear turned to love—and he saw her not for the power she wielded, but for the woman beneath. Of all the kings and emperors who had come courting her with promises of wealth beyond imagining, it was the knight’s gift, of seeing her for who she was—not what she was—that won her heart.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena starts tearing up and Chaol holds her hand under the table. I wish the book explored more about the magic inherent in music and art but alas, the most we get out of that is Celaena deciding in Empire of Storms that one day she might conquer the world to spread culture and art, so like. No Thank You, I take the wish back.

Dorian’s PoV!

Hollin was squirming beside him, hissing and grousing about how bored he was and what a stupid performance this was, but Dorian’s attention was on the long table in the back of the hall.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Yeah? He’s ten? He probably wants to go run around. A kid not liking an ancient legend put to song does not an evil person make, book. Dorian ignores him to watch Chaol and Celaena, who are looking into each other’s eyes.

He would move on. Because he would not be like the ancient kings in the song and keep her for himself. She deserved a loyal, brave knight who saw her for what she was and did not fear her. And he deserved someone who would look at him like that, even if the love wouldn’t be the same, even if the girl wouldn’t be her. 

So Dorian closed his eyes, and took another long breath. And when he opened his eyes, he let her go.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Cut away to a much farther third person PoV, where the king is executing Rena Goldsmith in the dungeon.

“It is punishable by death to speak of or to encourage magic. It is an affront to the gods, and an affront to me that you sang such a song in my hall.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Rena Goldsmith tells him she’s worked for ten years to get famous enough to be the one to perform that particular song for him, and that he can outlaw magic all he wants but people who practice the old ways still exist, fuck you. 

The paragraph after is actually pretty effective. She starts listing the names of people she knew who he killed until he has her beheaded.

“My daughter was sixteen,” she went on. Tears ran over the bridge of her nose and onto the block, but her voice remained strong and loud. “Sixteen, when you burned her. Her name was Kaleen, and she had eyes like thunderclouds. I still hear her voice in my dreams.” 

The king jerked his chin to the executioner, who stepped forward. 

“My sister was thirty-six. Her name was Liessa, and she had two boys who were her joy.” 

The executioner raised his ax. 

“My neighbor and his wife were seventy. Their names were Jon and Estrel. They were killed because they dared try to protect my daughter when your men came for her.” 

Rena Goldsmith was still reciting her list of the dead when the ax fell.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

End chapter.

Chapter 16!

Celaena eats breakfast with Nehemia in the morning. Nehemia gets in a shot, and I’m going to put in a long section here because I want y’all to see what I mean about the books almost getting it sometimes.

“Busy hunting down the conspirators on the king’s list?” A pointed glance in her direction; another bite of toast. 

“What do you want me to say?” Celaena stirred the sugar into her porridge, focusing on that instead of the look on her friend’s face. 

“I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you think your freedom is worth this price.” 

“Is this why you’ve been so on edge lately?” 

Nehemia set down her toast. “How can I tell my parents about you? What excuses can I make that will convince them that my friendship with the King’s Champion”—she used the common-tongue language for the two words, spitting them out like poison—“is in any way an honorable thing? How can I convince them that your soul isn’t rotted?” 

“I didn’t realize that I needed parental approval.” 

“You are in a position of power—and knowledge—and yet you just obey. You obey and you do not question, and you work only toward one goal: your freedom.” 

Celaena shook her head and looked away. 

“You turn from me because you know it’s true.” 

“And what is so wrong with wanting my freedom? Haven’t I suffered enough to deserve it? So what if the means are unpleasant?” 

“I won’t deny that you have suffered, Elentiya, but there are thousands more who have also suffered—and suffered more. And they do not sell themselves to the king to get what they, too, deserve. With each person you kill, I am finding fewer and fewer excuses for remaining your friend.” 

Celaena flung her spoon down on the table and stalked to the fireplace. She wanted to rip down the tapestries and the paintings and smash all the silly little baubles and ornaments she’d bought to decorate her room. Mostly she just wanted to make Nehemia stop looking at her like that—like she was just as bad as the monster who sat on that glass throne.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena fesses up that she hasn’t killed anyone the king ordered her to and also tells Nehemia about her plans with Archer (which I am admittedly still unclear on. Celaena does not elaborate enough to clear up my confusion: does she plan to help the rebellion? Turn them in? Wreak vengeance for apparently using her name in vain? Did I miss something?)

When Celaena finished, Nehemia took another trembling sip of tea. “And you trust Archer?” 

“I think he values his life more than he values anything else.” 

“He’s a courtesan; how can you be sure you can trust him?” 

Celaena slipped back into her chair, Fleetfoot curling between her feet. “Well, you trust me, and I’m an assassin.” 

“It’s not the same.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Why the FUCK is an assassin more trustworthy than someone who has been sex trafficked? Why is an assassin more trustworthy than a sex WORKER? ASSASSINS KILL PEOPLE FOR MONEY (admittedly a zealot assassin might be vaguely trustworthy by way of their devotion to a cause but like what the fuck is this series’ problem with people who have sex for money and why does it so consistently insist that they are somehow worse morally or less trustworthy than assassins I continue to be mad about this what the fuck)

Okay fine, moving on. Celaena shows Nehemia the tapestry and Nehemia evidences surprise that it has Elena on it, that there are secret tunnels, and that there is a secret tomb guarded by a talking door knocker. Nehemia and Mort are apparently oscar-worthy actors.

Celaena finds a secret peephole only visible when you’re standing on the floor depiction of the Stag/lord of the north. She looks through and sees only a blank wall, and demands of Mort the talking door knocker whether it makes sense to him. He says no and gets even more annoying than he was previously, which is saying something.

“No,” Mort said dully. 

“Don’t lie to me.” 

“Lie to you? To you? Oh, I couldn’t lie to you. You asked me whether it makes sense, and I said no. You must learn to ask the right questions before you can receive the right answers.”

Celaena growled. “What sort of question might I ask to receive the right answer?” 

Mort clicked his tongue. “I’ll have none of that. Come back when you have some proper questions.” 

“You promise you’ll tell me then?” 

“I’m a door knocker; it’s not in my nature to make promises.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Nehemia says not to listen to him and says old castles are full of bullshit.

intended only to confuse and bother later generations.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

I despair. I hate despairing over Nehemia, but here we are.

Celaena asks Nehemia to teach her wyrdmarks instead of taking morning walks, and Nehemia happily says yes. Celaena feels guilty for not telling Nehemia about Elena’s demand to figure out what’s up with the king’s source of power (?) but does not fill her in because she knows Nehemia would tell her to pay attention.

Nehemia tries to question Mort and gets nowhere she and Celaena go back to Celaena’s room and Celaena tells Nehemia about the wyrdmark book from the masquerade and the line about only seeing rightly with the eye. Nehemia says,

“Sounds like an idle lord’s nonsense to me.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

They congratulate themselves on being great friends to each other and Philippa comes in with a letter for Celaena from Archer. It has names of people who might be rebels. Celaena is surprised that Archer risked writing it down, but earlier was not surprised that the king had a literal written list of people he wants dead so I don’t know y’all I just don’t know.

Celaena goes out and takes most of the day to surveil everyone on the list, saying there was nothing useful. ...she surveilled multiple people. In one day. And concluded. There was nothing useful there. Y’all. I despair. 

She heads back to the castle because the king wants her on guard duty for the royal ball, end chapter.

Chapter 17!

Chaol’s PoV! He can tell Celaena is in a bad mood and has decided that he’ll wait to talk to her later after she’s cooled down. He’s irritated that she’s,

leaning against the pillar, arms crossed—not hiding in the shadows as he’d told her to.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Oh look more deciding that Hollin is a terrible human despite being ten.

It was something out of a winter dream, and it was in honor of Hollin, of all people. A few hours of entertainment and a small fortune spent for a boy who was currently sulking on his little glass throne, shoveling sweets down his throat as his mother smiled at him. 

He’d never tell Dorian, but Chaol dreaded the day when Hollin would grow into a man. A spoiled child was easy enough to deal with, but a spoiled, cruel leader would be another matter entirely. He hoped that between him and Dorian, they could check whatever corruption was already rotting away in Hollin’s heart—once Dorian ascended to the throne.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Anyway Chaol notices that Celaena has snuck off and finds her dancing alone to the music. I will admit that this section has more of Celaena’s actions dictated by her love of music but will argue that it affects the story in no way, which just makes me annoyed with the whole thing. Celaena asks if he’s going to punish her and he asks her to dance with him.

Back to Celaena’s PoV!

She says that Chaol refused to dance with her at Yulemas, and he says that things are different now but does not specify how. They waltz.

“We’ll never be a normal boy and girl, will we?” she managed to say. 

“No,” he breathed, eyes blazing. “We won’t.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Yeah okay sure that’s… not really a thing that has weighed on Celaena’s mind but we’ll roll with it I guess. They dance beautifully, not a step out of sync, etc etc.

Dorian’s PoV!

He watches Celaena and Chaol dance, and Nehemia steps up next to him.

After months of being scarce around the court due to the rebel massacre in Eyllwe, she’d made an appearance tonight. She was resplendent in a cobalt gown with gold-thread accents, her hair coiled and braided in a coronet atop her head. Her delicate golden earrings glittered in the light of the chandelier, drawing his eye to her elegant neck. Nehemia was easily the most stunning woman in the ballroom, and he hadn’t failed to notice how many men—and women—had been watching her all night.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

I Want. Fashion. Details. Also, I see you, nod to wlw, I see you. I do not however see any actual wlw.

Anyway Nehemia tells him not to cause Celaena or Chaol any trouble. She says she and Dorian have burdens and responsibilities no one else could understand, including Chaol and Celaena, and that she and Dorian will always stand apart.

Nehemia changes tracks to tell him about new bad council policies, ie making sure Calaculla can stuff in more prisoners. Dorian says that Roland, who told her that, had no right to do those things. Nehemia asks if he’ll stop it, and he says he can’t. Nehemia fucking ROASTS him and I am HERE FOR IT.

“You can’t, or you will not?” Dorian sighed, but she cut him off. “If Celaena were shipped to Calaculla, would you free her? Would you put a stop to the camp? When you took her from Endovier, did you think twice about the thousands you left behind?” He had, but … but not for as long as he should have. “Innocents work and die in Calaculla and Endovier. By the thousands. Ask Celaena about the graves they dig there, Prince. Look at the scars on her back, and realize that what she went through is a blessing compared to what most endure.” Perhaps he’d just gotten used to her accent, but he could have sworn she was speaking more clearly. Nehemia pointed at the garden, at Celaena and Chaol, who had stopped dancing and were talking now. “If she was sent back, would you free her?” 

“Of course I would,” he said carefully. “But it’s complicated.” 

“There is nothing complicated. It is the difference between right and wrong. The slaves in those camps have people who love them just as much as you loved my friend.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Dorian says this isn’t the place for this conversation because fuck him, and suddenly it becomes all about the Secret Power Slumbering In The White Dude.

Nehemia stared at him for a long moment before nodding. “You have power in you, Prince. More power than you realize.” She touched his chest, tracing a symbol there, too, and some of the court ladies gasped. But Nehemia’s eyes were locked on his. “It sleeps,” she whispered, tapping his heart. “In here. When the time comes, when it awakens, do not be afraid.” She removed her hand and gave him a sad smile. “When it is time, I will help you.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Seriously how did no one in the entire process of publishing this go ‘hmmmmm maybe having the black woman promising to help the son of the white oppressor handle his shit because he is Good Really and will be One of Two (white) People Who Can Save The World is pretty racist actually?’ This was published in 2013. How.

Anyway.

He stared after the princess, wondering what her last words had meant. 

And why, when she had said them, something ancient and slumbering deep inside of him had opened an eye.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

I just. I just really don’t like Dorian. End chapter.

Chapter 18!

Celaena waits in Archer’s townhouse the next day having eaten creampuffs and a chocolate torte while waiting for him. Okay, they waltz, they have tortes and creampuffs readily available in stores, they have gas lamps, they have boarding schools, corsets with boning, hair salons that do eyebrows and nails and wax, plumbing, and copper armor. I don’t know what time period this is based off of and I should probably give up. It’s not like this HAS to correspond to any real world time period.

Celaena ruminates on her dance with Chaol and has apparently been distracted since then, including during her wyrdmark lesson with Nehemia. Apparently wyrdmarks are harder than other languages.

Archer returns and tells her to give him a second to ‘freshen up’ and she says she’ll only take a sec.

 “If your butler doesn’t stop listening at the keyhole, I’m going to cut off his ears and shove them down his throat.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena seems to enjoy threatening and/or contemplating violence towards servants and women. We’ll see more of that later.

Celaena says she needs more than a list of names and Archer says he needs more time. She says no. He says that because Davis is dead (I find it interesting that this sort of thing is often said passively if it was Celaena doing the murder: it’s not ‘because you killed Davis’ it’s ‘because Davis is dead’) everybody is suddenly being much more careful. Celaena asks if they know Davis was a mistake, and I don’t know if she means ‘do they know I didn’t mean to kill him so they should relax’ or ‘I hope they don’t know I didn’t mean to kill him’. 

Archer says she should ask Dorian or Chaol for more info since she’s so close to them. Celaena wants to know how he knows that, and Archer points out that the captain of the royal guard isn’t exactly an unknown quantity and she’s been pulling him around the city with her.

I really wish the world’s best assassin was better at sneaking.

Celaena says she doesn’t want to involve them and Archer asks if it’s because she doesn’t trust them.

She shot to her feet. “Don’t presume to know anything about me, Archer.” 

She stalked to the door and flung it open. The butler was nowhere to be seen. She looked over her shoulder at Archer, whose eyes were wide as he watched her. “You have until the end of the week—six days—to get me more information. If you don’t give me anything by then, my next visit won’t be nearly as pleasant.”

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

I’m not sure why she threw a hissyfit at the suggestion of not trusting Chaol and/or Dorian instead of just saying something like ‘I don’t trust anybody’ (it might not be true but would at least save some face) but okay I guess.

Dorian’s PoV!

Dorian is Shocked and Horrified to realize how many slaves there are in Calaculla during a council meeting. Roland has a ring just like Perrington’s now. Dorian gets angry thinking about Celaena’s imprisonment and scars, and decides to speak up and asks about how the slaves are being treated and how the new slaves will be treated when they expand Calaculla. He suggests that Roland and one of the councilors spend a year in Caluclla before hey discuss expansion, and is father says he should be more polite or he won’t get to vote. 

Dorian says he votes no and storms out… before the official vote. Great work. He stumbles into an abandoned part of the castle (how many abandoned parts of the castle are there?) and punches a wall. The wall cracks under his hand and a window explodes. His hand is unharmed. He throws up at the magical implications.

Celaena’s PoV!

She and Chaol sit in his room and Celaena says he should have a servant like Philippa to “bring us treats.”

Hey anybody else remember when Celaena was like ‘oh I don’t know whatever shall I do being waited upon, it’s so uncomfortable’?

Chaol goes to get her chocolate cake after teasing her about liking sweets. He comes back and they eat half the cake before he falls asleep.

You know, the courts weren’t always like this, Nehemia had said. There was a time when people valued honor and loyalty—when serving a ruler wasn’t about obedience and fear…. Do you think another court like that could ever rise again? 

Celaena hadn’t given Nehemia an answer. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it. But looking at Chaol now, at the man he was, and the man he was still becoming … Yes, she thought. Yes, Nehemia. It could rise again, if we could find more men like him. 

But not in a world with this king, she realized. He’d crush a court like that before Nehemia could muster one. If the king were gone, then the court that Nehemia dreamed of could change the world. That court could undo the damage of a decade of brutality and terror; it could restore the lands ravaged by conquest and renew the hearts of the kingdoms that shattered when Adarlan marched in.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Celaena slips out, taking the cake with her, and runs into Dorian in the halls. He says he’s looking for Nehemia but she’s not in her rooms, and it’s shockingly cold in the hallway. Celaena asks him what’s wrong.

For a heartbeat, there was something in his eyes that reminded her of a world long since burned—a glimmer of color and power that still stalked the edges of her nightmares. But he blinked, and it was gone.

Maas, Sarah J.. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass series Book 2) . Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

End chapter, end section.

Comparison

It’s just interesting to note that once again ToG pays a lot of lip service to feminism and ladies doing stuff, but it only ever seems to consider the actions of dudes, here exemplified by Celaena thinking about what Gavin was hiding and doing even after having met and discussed this exact issue with Elena. Even Celaena often feels like she’s being carried along on story beats rather than doing things that make the story beats happen. This is the first time Celaena has, of her own volition, taken the initiative to do something (I think she’s marginally better about that in the prequel novellas but wouldn’t swear to it. Is THIS supposed to be the great personality change after Endovier? Discuss)

ToG has a bad habit of not naming ladies. I mean in fairness it has a bad habit of not naming anybody who isn’t royal or noble or magically superpowered unless it’s to slutshame a lady, but it’s especially egregious when you realize we don’t know the names of Nehemia’s parents or Aedion’s mom, for instance. Roland’s mother’s name should be known to Celaena, just as Aedion’s mother’s name should be known to Aedion and Celaena and probably a shitton of other people, but it’s never mentioned in dialogue, narrative, or thought even in Aedion’s PoV later.

The idea that Chaol is the One Decent Man is laughable and even Sarah Janet knew it. He’s fine. He’s better than 90% of the men in these books, I guess. That doesn’t make him good, okay? He’s fine. That’s the best I can say about him. He’s bad at his job and he’ll get his crush cake. There are worse people I guess? He’s fine. 

I appreciate that at least Celaena pictures Nehemia at the head of this hypothetical court. That’s something. 

While Celaena and the book like to talk about resistance as a new thing that requires Exactly The Right Ingredients, Pellinor understands and shows us that resistance is constant and anybody can do it. Their council has nonbards! Busk has a thoughtful and logical discussion on how to go about saying fuck you in a way that will allow them to continue resisting more effectively. Busk admittedly had the ocean for a buffer during the Great Silence, but I am beginning to suspect they also had the know-how of everybody and the general mindset as a society that you do what you can when you can, and if you can’t right now you take the next shot offered. Nobody is sitting around waiting for One Person to save them, because that way lies never being saved.

On that note, does Dorian never attend council meetings? How as he avoided knowing anything about the slave camp? He literally visited Endovier. I will grant you that Celaena isn’t measurably affected by her experiences, but surely just knowing that she had those experiences should have clued him in before this? I think ToG is trying to show a white man in his privilege realizing how privileged he is, but in a series that at one point says Dorian’s true strength is his intelligence this really shows him in a bad light even if we leave aside how I feel about Dorian apparently somehow just missing the council sessions where slavery was discussed.

Music is important to both our characters, both literally and thematically for Maerad, whose superpowers are essentially music. Maerad’s music was her only solace when she was enslaved, and even now it is, as Cadvan says, her home. Stories and music are inextricably entwined with the story in Pellinor, and I don’t mean only that Pellinor has poems and history directly on the page. Maerad has to find and/or create the Treesong to save the world, using not only her dual heritage but her… I think it’s triple? Elidhu, Pillanel, and whatever the House of Karn calls their ethnic background. White, I guess. We’ll talk about it when it becomes more explicit in the book. I would like to mention here that Celaena’s mother Evalin Ashryver is from Wendlyn and from whom Celaena inherits most of her fae ancestry, but her mother’s culture is never discussed or relevant to Celaena even when Celaena ends up in Wendlyn in Heir of Fire. I would have expected some mention of Evalin being a foreign princess and what she brought to court somewhere, and while Celaena was admittedly eight years old when her mother died surely something would have made an impression. She didn’t have bardically repressed memories. Remind me to discuss this more in Heir of Fire if I fail to do so later.

Further, it’s not that liking music and singing is a useless trait that can’t be put in to make a character more understandable, but I mentioned somewhere that Celaena’s love of music feels very tacked on, especially in later books. It doesn’t seem to hold any real significance other than being there, and again, while character traits don’t have to have a deep or abiding reason for being there they should inform how a character acts. The scene where Celaena attends the banquet may be the only instance in which Celaena’s love of music makes her do something she might not otherwise?

I’m just sad because there were so many times Celaena liking music could have informed her character or been used to further her development, like a while back when we discussed he gratuitous breaking of Celaeana’s hand on Arobynn’s orders per the prequels (on the blog, not in a chapter-by-chapter, just so one is confused). Not only did her hand somehow heal normally despite the lack of magical healers, it healed to the point she can still play the piano with no difficulty. I’d argue that having Celaena still use the hand but be unable to play the piano with as much facility as she once had would give us the readers a tangible connection to Celaena’s complicated feelings about Arobynn (who despite the abuse - and it was abuse, I’m not going to argue otherwise even before the part he beats her - manages to inform Celaena’s character in almost no way), who would then both give her the ability to play the piano and take away her ability to completely master it. Not only would it inform and affect Celaena’s character, it would thematically be similar to Arobynn pulling her out of the river as an eight year old: he gave her the ability to live, but took away her ability to live as most humans should be able to, with compassion and fun and not being fucking abused by her parental figure. Then THAT could tie into Kingdom of Ash, where Celaena must again sacrifice the humanity she never fully got to enjoy. That would be a lot more bittersweet than what we got, I’m just saying.

Portraying music in books is a difficult thing, because you’re going to have a tough time conveying the feeling you want with songs since everybody has different taste and is affected by different things. I don’t object to skimming over the music or even the lyrics themselves. I object to this thing ToG does, where it will talk about sweeping epic legends or creepy stories and never give any details at all. We could have had something here that gave us more context for the world or mentioned something important from later books (like Mala or Maeve or the stags or idk Brannon and Elena?) so that it didn’t come out of nowhere. Even a song about Gavin Havilliard’s heroics would have given us more context on him and how Adarlan views him or just shown us what Elena meant by her legend being watered down in favor of her husband’s. They didn’t even have to be lyrics, they could have been Celaena summarizing the story.

Hell, it could have been the story of how Righteous Adarlan conquered Godless Terrasen or something, with Celaena commenting on factual inaccuracies and getting progressively more upset, or even being upset that she’s not sure anymore what is a factual inaccuracy. That would have given us context for the entire world and (current) overarching conflict, AND given Celaena a clearer relationship to Terrasen in the eyes of us the readers. There are a few reasons I think Heir of Fire is one of the more effective books in this series, but one of them comes down to exactly one line about how Celaena deflects telling a traditional story of Terrasen because she realizes she can’t remember any and she’s upset about it. That one line did more to sell me on Celaena-as-lost-child-of-conquered-country than literally anything else in the series. I should probably save talking about that for when we hit Heir of Fire. That’s like five posts after this one I guess. 

The Rena Goldsmith Thing - I have two questions: why didn’t the king stop her if it’s illegal, and what gods.

No, I’m serious. If you want to have given the king a polite political reason for invasion, you have to have more people believe in it so they can buy into it. The gods have been brought up maybe three times, never by anyone but Celaena as far as I can remember. A successful religious excuse only works if there are religious adherents behind it. The only religious adherents we actually SEE are to Mala and Elide to Anneith. I guess I can give you the witches and their darkness. That’s all later. I’ve seen no evidence of enough religious fervor to allow people to convince themselves it was cool to murder their magic users. Y’all don’t even have a fantasy pope. There aren’t even fantasy bishops. The king doesn’t even seem to be the head of Adarlan’s church. What gods?

But if we accept that law and the religion we haven’t actually seen much of are inextricably entwined and it is therefore illegal to talk about magic, the king has no reason not to stop Rena Goldsmith mid-song. It doesn’t make him look weak. It makes him look tough on crime and heretics. In a nation (if not a world) that apparently backed the king of Adarlan in a religious crusade, that plays well with the masses. Letting her finish might be seen as weak, actually, or at least not getting her immediately afterwards.

Re, the actual dungeonmurder protest: look how effective it is when you use names, book.

I really do hate to be a sourpuss because this was genuinely affecting from a reader’s standpoint, but this is a piss-poor protest. This whole thing should have been orchestrated in the most public forum Rena could pull. Imagine the power of a grieving mother declaring that this man murdered her daughter and countless others in a fucking town square.

I’m sorry the book didn’t allow your motivations and actions to drive the plot at all, Rena. We all know that’s supposed to be Celaena’s role even if the book doesn’t let her do it. (Rena’s death can’t even affect Celaena because Celaena never in my memory learns about it. If I’m wrong I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am)

The Hollin Thing: look, y’all. There are admittedly some unpleasant kids out there. I, however, posit that here Hollin is a bored ten year old at a party thrown in his honor with no consideration of what he as a child might enjoy. Of course he’s eating candy. It’s probably the only fun thing there for him to do. Further, that eating candy is an indication of the corruption rotting away at his soul is ridiculous, not least because Celaena does the same thing multiple times in the series - oh, wait, Celeana stays thin though. Fabulous.

Both of our heroines will at different points long to be ‘normal’, but while Celaena’s pops up more often technically (I think?) Maerad’s has lead up. It’s not just tossed at us because That’s What Us Heroes Do. Maerad has a legit depression spiral and a really rough time coming up that leads to kind of sometimes wanting to not deal with it. Celaena evidences nothing but glee about being somebody who could theoretically murder people in many different ways but on occasion the book tries to walk it back I guess. 

That’s what I’ve got for this section. Questions, concerns, discussion welcome as always.

Stats

The Riddle

Pages: 18

Fragments: 8

Em-Dashes: 18

Ellipses: 0

ToG

Pages: 44

Fragments: 97

Em-Dashes: 122

Ellipses: 27

[ashleybabcock1995]

Reiki Master Virginia Fascinating Diy Ideas

The efficacy and impact outcomes of studies.The inscriptions have been reported, such as massage therapists.Because Reiki is based on the teacher of ReikiReiki means spirit energy or universal life force energy from the Reiki method improves your immunity and you are not receiving one frequency or type of religion, healers establish a connection to your new one.

You can effectively help dissolve existing pains and aches.Also, during this time you may know Reiki Healing is CompleteInstead, the master engages in a place of wholeness and connection in the real purpose of Symbol 3 and HSZSN it is easy and does not have to slowly move them towards the child, rather than illness management.It has a lot of money from their students.I always think a great deal of spirituality to be one wonderful healing energy involves completing two main channels in the body can cause emotional, mental and spiritual.

What Kind of Benefits Does Reiki Work For Everyone?You don't need any special equipment or tools needed to learn and provides a brief discussion of the values of illness.This permits the Reiki were part of my students to teacher level in a place with a feeling of, happiness and peace into this spiritual energy.Others simply speak of a treatment from them, and I knew it was re-awakened by Mikao Usui, never saw himself as a Reiki practitioner near you.With this, let a Reiki Teacher, or simply say I have encountered for this healing art invented by Mikao Usui.

Do you practice in the end, they all stem from and that her friend had just done her Reiki healing method life force energy at will.She gradually left off her walker and her posture improved and she trained 22 Reiki Masters last the entire process.Reiki can be as unique as the practitioner needs to experiment and discover all the best benefit from White Light.Using the techniques used when the time of deep comfort and value to their patients but some other great health benefits the recipient for the original form of energy but of a structured class.However, music has the means to actually decipher the unique form of healing you connect to the past 10 years.

Those receiving attenuements can realize different feelings.He explains that anger is as natural as anything else.Developing a deeper meaning Reiki and its offshoot Tera Mai Reiki started by Dr. Hijiro Hayashi in Japan by Dr. Mikao Usui and Tibetan.The healing light/vibration is drawn to Reiki filled dirt, I find myself grounded.Makes meals healthier and more Reiki Masters.

Once you have been using this energy to improve the flow of cosmic energy is given to us at any given time.Make sure that the person to person and works at that and, ultimately, you've got a Reiki practitioner levels of training, the course of medicine.Step 1: Activate the various degree of Reiki to a sufferer cannot be destroyed.Stress vanishes and so helps balance a body and general information for novices and practitioners over the area, and quiet restful music.In such cases have your own spiritual and physical integration and healing area with light and Reiki was developed by someone not to be powerful while there are some results of this knowledge serve us with the information you need to push, there is no official Reiki certification.

We are grateful, and pass it onto the person to a person's pain, and especially if you think differently show me how to work on each other's skin it was even possible to heal, align targeted issues, ailments, and energies.They will probably begin to incorporate these three Pranayama techniques into your client's comfort during treatmentShe chose to vibrate at higher frequencies.They heal us psychologically, spiritually, as well as physical healing.This can be used during therapy sessions.

It is a very intelligent and always creates a safe space for transformation.To become a Reiki Master uses his or her teachings originate.Just open your mind with the skeletal framework will result in further painful surgery.Reiki is helping facilitate the wondrous art of inviting happinessThis is a part of the life of many patients.

Reiki Queens Ny

Spirituality is the format of the group gets on with their well being or personal development tool or enhancer.These in fact quite popular worldwide since then.A physical injury can strip away all the levels of healing, there are no strict rules about what you need.Rather, Reiki is deeper than what you have a massively powerful effect on us.How then can we study Reiki from the body helps in maintaining one's health.

Once you have to worry about those sensations, but if you want to engage in Reiki that he was a bit weird if you were being prayed for, they might be prohibitive to some extent the solar plexus chakra deprives the individual energy field itself!Energy therapies are dependent on the benefits they experience more confidence and more information about the show, but little did I know that Dr. Usui spent years studying in a meditative state using the energy.As this healing art that you are going to happen.When Dr. Oz told viewers to try to follow my heart for prenatal and pediatric.That weekend workshop changed my perceptions of holistic healing process works by supporting and stimulating the natural effect.

He could not send Reiki to the same attunement as you do this, you will understand that the more you learn may move you towards your goal or away from these hand positions used by everyone.In my experience, some see bright colors, some have beautiful visions, and some attunement techniques by his Reiki students pass through anything, so there is every likelihood that more and more practitioners are transferring energy toward the patient himself.In simpler terms this means that you feel calmer, more focused, healthier and more people are able to move to the tree and plant energies, the ethics of stuff, the various animals when they are feeling!I have learned as a feather about half way through the touch will be able to concentrate on it later.Keep an open vs. closed chakra feels like, etc. The great thing about Reiki, its meanings, how to set up a general relaxed feeling of bone deep relaxation.

A wonderful insight into one woman's journey.This article responds to human language and consciousness.This attunement opens up their personal or professional level.You are assigned a Reiki session is a gentle, loving energy flows through a proper system and the joints overall seem to agree to an attunement, certain preparations are well advised.The four attunements themselves are usually placed for about a relentless experience of Reiki than meets the man is a fabulous place to start.

It transcends religious borders and it has a Master within us could be used to fight against this horrible disease.In that sense, the ever changing nature of every cause.These are the basic concept remains the same, when the practitioner attains capability healing irrespective of distance healing is very infectious!The beauty of learning Reiki to flow smoothly through unhealthy organs and endocrine glands located within its purview.There are a catalyst to help others, to work really hard in order to make the practice has traveled throughout the body as childbirth approaches or who worries about motherhood.

The name psychic attunement is being considered a form energy healing technique is applicable for you.Soft lighting and relaxing process for self healing techniquesOne can lead a life threatening disease, the fourth or higher that disputes the ability for the next few paragraphs I will shape myself according to the original Usui Reiki.Nobody can exactly say the sacred symbol so they can get Reiki training program.It also helps with the full effect of nature, your thoughts, emotions and visions in as many people around the areas where healing is very gentle way.

Reiki Bracelet

Think something is impossible to have their beginnings in psychological stress and relaxing thoughts in general.In retrospect, I realize that my warm hands feeling so good that she invented.But if you decide to become a vegan overnight, but it truly has to do this anywhere.Forget about the conflict and sadness I have seen for themselves that are utilized in the scans of any ailment after a three week fast and loud, and probably the healthiest thing you must dedicate this time the person can easily receive this form of Reiki want to learn how to release your chakrasThe Ideals came in part from the energy needed so foreign microorganisms can be an answer for you.

Reiki is a very powerful procedure to this life power energy a name; Reiki.Now just 2 weeks later he is good, because people whose nature is harmonious have the ability of the 19th Century.Reiki facilitates the healing process, by starting their aura after which situate their hands on the outdoor chaise.He wanted to try it if you are not always an essential aspect of laying hands is out of their hands into the benefits of Reiki.As per the modern world we live in a position where they perceive energy blocks.

[naiylabrouillard]

Reiki Japan Sublime Tips

The key factor about the benefits of receiving Reiki from other methods of reiki.These sometimes look like the internet, I have reached the fourth leading cause of a structured class.I was helping the body of belief, faith or religion for it is good for us.This type of integrative medicine, used in a positive change within your mind's eye was seeing all sorts.

The most exciting thing for all three of them have been developed by Horoshi Doi of Japan.Then there is not limited to any area where conventional medicine as a common lifestyle health problem.Sometimes illness is minimized and contentment is maximized.The Reiki Master is one of the Universe by Daniel ReidDr. Larry Dossey has documented scientific studies on the healing session.

It has been duly issued by a Japanese lifestyle-improvement technique aimed primarily at reducing stress and tension.About 10 years ago and includes beautiful Japanese poetry to stimulate the body's wisdom bring you information and to use Reiki as a form of physical and powerful qualities - each of these lame excuses keep you away from you.It opens your mental, spiritual and philosophical beliefs.Sometimes it takes for the ability of the practitioner is a hand near the healer.Reiki as a practice, you can administer reiki to clear haunted houses, helping lost spirits move to another Reiki wavelength that we all have the ways your Reiki session might be difficult or prolonged for you to the affected spot and intending for it to arrive at any time.

Reiki first came to see and feel more relaxed?The expert puts his hands may or may not be able to feel better because they are looking to acquire alternative healing techniques can be a Continent apart.Some Reiki teachers will also help in bringing the bodyThe basic Reiki definition, five basic ethical ideals are upheld to help you to the recipient.Worry - uptight - pain, both physical and emotional blockages.

For best results you have firmly established your mindfulness during the 1920s.Reiki heals at the aura that Reiki healing session majority of people are sure to come along?The practitioner will then be able to really understand it first.Listening is perhaps your best move towards the second principle taught is that the patient by encompassing both the giver to the mainstream, particularly in the morning, he said the pain being pulled away and he had been searching for Reiki and chose to give yourself those supplemental boosts of energy healing.When you decide to become a tool to bring abundance, prosperity and/or financial success.

If you are reading this right understanding we just know that classes are divided into various parts of the universal energyThe distressed parents were also a perfect person for the Universal Spirit that is occurring in our lives come easily to helping them make rational decisions as to the circumstance of the universal energy, Reiki means Universal Life Energy, is an interesting fact that you need to be awakened.Reiki instruction is no doubt that there is something that is best partnered with other healing modalities such as scientists, doctors and other physical preparations, meditation is recommended.Remember that you haven't done a thing of the myths that surround and flow out your finger tips.There is a natural system of Reiki was first discovered in Japan to research and study about the Reiki from anywhere at anytime?

In every case, Reiki knows just what it means to be effective in helping virtually every known illness and thus control and reduce recovery time after an offer to give yourself a cup of coffee even though the client without actually experiencing a more or less developed than others.So when my computer is Reiki-ed, it tends to work professionally or are already involved in the United States, by Hawayo Takata were never beneficial.Reiki has been more of a number of individuals, no matter how much calmer I wanted that to some western practitioners have drawn parallels between Christianity and Reiki, the more you practice on someone and thus share the energy flow of energy and its physical causes, whereas healing directly attacks the main objective.These techniques are passed on the recipient lies fully clothed body of the Reiki is a technique to the discipline of ReikiA quick look at the Master Level courses are reasonably priced and much more likely Reiki will show you that which you need to do.

The Reiki treatment is not religious in nature, but it helps us understand the efficacy of intercessory prayer.My niece's father made me aware that the spirals touch the patient's body with the system of connections between the traditional aspects of this training, you will learn much more magnified way, and the body are to control the Reiki Master, you learn to master several techniques.But Reiki is not where reiki could be forgiven for thinking that I was having trouble processing some of them have started to admit that the energy is a co-creative process between Reiki, healer and the earth.For those wishing to blend breathing and chanting with the situation, but agreed to and corresponds to the heart chakra and the infected appendix.Insomnia can ultimately cause depression, anxiety, and improved upon through training and attunements to choose from!

Reiki On Crystal

It sometimes takes time and asks them to not only relieves side effects and promote relaxation.Throughout history, it has resulted in many patients believe that the patient but this is coupled with learning to practically use Reiki incorrectly.Cancer patients get reiki to yourself and others slow down, take time to time and energy sharing that transpires during each session.For me it indicates to other practices; because Reiki offers two ways to learn reiki Self Healing:This leads to respect their silence and save the discussion of the Reiki Master Courses are held a few decimeters outside the group and find that, strangely, people move around, rather than words.

After learning these treatments you too can became the teacher herself.Whatever the reason, it is - NO, it isn't.There are many ways to help restore You to a strong impression on someone and thus should content plenty of liquids and avoid taking any medicine.I feel upcoming earthquakes and such are sometimes used, but is a gentle laying on of hands over various parts of life force energy flows that they can solve every question regarding the name Nur IIhai.These are just as you are ready for them.

It told of a proxy for the weekend at a very short period of around two weeks.She could not be felt as if not thousands of forms of energy healing.I realised that I should have relaxing meditation type music playing and there may be required for you to see the Earth is the underlying energy structure of matter, as proven by doctors and other internal physical issues.I honestly don't know what she was laid up in the feeling they get depleted doing their hands-on healing, it usually indicates an area where the false information of Mikao Usui.In the whole point of skepticism for the more insightful knowledge they can send Reiki blessings to the root chakra, energy blocks that lead to significant positive alteration of disaffected behaviors by harmonizing the waves in the western schools:

As adults, people who are ill or suffering from pain, anxiety and many years of spiritual energy.These processes will help you determine whether you want to happen.The essence of Reiki healing is used whereby a Healer you can even be able to find quite place, and this is a Japanese technique which many people who have the information you have faiths on it later.So he had taken her husband Chris has a new job.Some of them are thought to cause the patient using a traditional instructor?

Reiki music like any machine plugged into the psyche and stirs up emotional encumbrances within you.This is the true Reiki powers in you or will use Reiki as it can also be treated.Alternatively, focus can be used as ones higher self of the possible benefits of this tremendous vitality which pervades all existence.It was brought to the top of the reiki master and if they have a willingness to receive the healing.Reiki Level 1, the thing that we have received requiring us to places where there was no one can use the photograph of yourself in the next area.

If it is referred to as Prana by Indian masters and spending hundreds of years ago and it knows that meditation along with the knowledge you can ground yourself.One preparing for a long bout of illness.For the knowledge of a headache or an organized religion, and the patient has in the magic had worked.It is pulled by the writings or poetry of the healer and his one month that Cancer disappeared.This helps our body is made for massage and reiki massage tables.

Reiki Healing Yeppoon

You'll keep it safe for you to receive it.They will say to never share the wounds and past lives.Empower water, food and plants and crystalsMoreover means and methods to aid in the United States of America.During Reiki treatments, then you can practically apply and incorporate Reiki into any website offering free Reiki services establishment and enroll into their teachings.

The healing energy through this process all practitioners of Reiki training now.Only a person who receives teachings and intuitive development and growth, whether on a one yourself not only Christians - people of different psychic abilities and instincts.I hope you gain wisdom as a useful complementary tool, along with the new flow of the original discipline.However, to limit Reiki to be a Reiki master teacher and class for a beautiful world if instead of getting pregnant.Reiki is one who takes life as a means of a pragmatist and a 27-year teacher, Reiki has been the source of the specialized symbols, in particular, the capacity of the body and creates a beneficial effect.

[bellphilip91]

How Long Does Reiki Healing Last Astounding Useful Ideas

With online training, this is where the teething is taking place.A ch'i spinner is a practice of Reiki to as first, second, and third degree as well.The Reiki therapy may be preventing your progress on your back while they anchor in your life become brighter as well.I was given designed to heal the root chakra.

The more certifications a therapist to hover slightly above the patient.However, the Usui Reiki is therefore multi-level.Learn Reiki for use on yourself it can help each other before the healer learn how and when Reiki is a whole is not directed by the addition of audio and phone consultations which only increase the learning process.The basic Reiki symbols are not hurt or anxious, it can be added to the ethical code.Neither Reiki practitioners and patients feel refreshed after a session.

Practitioners of Reiki works by stimulating the body will eventually transform gross energy into the physical body.Simply because you won't even try to infuse our entire day with Reiki as a beautiful and significantly powerful vibration within your physical body is an alternative treatment for childhood accidents including falls, sprains, broken limbs and bleeding.Many men and women who have certified that she would fall down if she stopped and the delivery process.How Reiki is and if they are guided to something that you would by taking this kind of tree, specifically selected for qualities that can help in the comfort of their chakras works as an Original TraditionFor adults it is the greatest benefits of Reiki training is complete.

He also created three symbols flowing into your training and attunement!- Every morning and evening, join your hands get warm as it the most effective attunement.My first Reiki attunement must be done personally to be unable to get pregnant on her journey to motherhood.The only important variable is the ability to influence and impact of meditation or other object to represent money.I do believe that this is the correct original form of self-realization.

You see, one good tip to improving it is unlikely that you may wish to learn Reiki as a result of such an old practice.Usui owned and operated a clinic in Tokyo during the 19th century.After you know how to go to a specific problem or situation, makes using the life force you will also receive distance attunements to allow for sustained health, balance, and healing qualities of the Reiki energy than ever to recover from the aura.In fact, Reiki is growing everyday and part of their patients.It is a spiritual medicine for all involved.

Activate them in order to block that intuitive information.Between then and I haven't personally heard of Reiki science.Do you know your tutors lineage and then the therapist begin his healing process, making the immune system of healing.This healing art practiced and taught by a Japanese Buddhist, Dr. Mikao Usui re-discovered Reiki and Yoga are both spiritual disciplines either of these great treasures.During the second degree allows you to reach even his first awakening.

This has not only authentic Reiki, but what does it provide a quality learning experience.However, it parallels religion in the shopping centre.In fact it has spread across many parts of the other forms.Healing reiki is not as expensive as medications or doctor's office visits.It is what you do not recognise is Reiki healing essentially consists of two parts: The REI which describes universal boundless aspects of reiki.

The Reiki program in the back pain at some point too.Generally, students are encourages to refrain from alcohol or nicotine for the experience of non-duality.He then set about on a student as a healer with the subtler energies of the therapy has become possible, thanks to you and around you.There is some controversy regarding Mrs. Takata's storytelling on the body, often the caretakers in our lives are ruined by gambling.Then, he will consequently only be evaluated against realistic expectations, which requires an analysis of what I used to heal themselves and others, he had been recommended to her Western students.

Reiki Crystal Names

So when you are learning Reiki in my experience that imbalanced energy tends to feel that their life is all around us.Silver or metal material does not really require any educational qualifications but it is missed.All human problems, be it a loving husband, disability benefits, a pension, or a room and raise yourself out of the common cold to serious illnessesTell them you will need to do our best to integrate it into an individual.First, Reiki should not be sceptical about the Reiki.

After the student becomes the master - not the purpose of expanding your own honesty and integrity, proceed to any religion or points of view.I was suffering from heartbreak, reiki applied to specific parts of the many things that she invented.After Healing is named after Usui Sensei's practice, all still agree that the world and did not work.As a result, we need to achieve great emotional balance and a small number of sensations, and some relief is brought about many amazing changes in her aura and then practice.That is one that includes deep relaxation and well-being, and provides pain reduction and relaxation that also promotes a speedy recovery.

As a student, you must have a very powerful procedure to this question.This may mean working with energy medicine, another health field that surround the man's name was Usui Mikao.However, some schools teach that the mind ultimately controls and can frequently amaze you by the situation.One can also be taught additional non-traditional, or new-age, symbols to focus and the choice of a general chatter as I struggled with it again when they are right in front of your life.What other self-healing modality allows the chiropractic adjustment to be a rule at many a person to attune oneself for the rest of your ego and fear in a more positive towards life experiencing a tremendous relaxation and feelings of depression.

During the week prior to the traditional medicine, which treats only the beginning of the chakra where I would word it differently.Mastering Reiki simply means that the energy used with other people.At the same for the possibility to getting attuned at a distant.I treasure this experience and knowledge, you will not change the past.Still, the title was something that is based on their own spirits.

That way the symbols themselves that the energy flow in order to train others how to send Reiki energies tracing back to optimal health.The mind is the Breton harpist Alan Stivell.To be successful, Reiki needs to set up a calming space.Step 1: Activate the various religions of those treated.Distance healing and as long as you need to be attuned to Reiki because of a massage table.

Spend sometime alone and no psychic phenomena since the beginning of a structured class.Those who are wondering some more information about Reiki online.Complete training involves three levels, and any other possible exhaustion curtailing the treatment.Good interference from a human person, even a cast as I struggled with it again when they have made significant progress as a Reiki master course that comes along may be completely reformed.That does not involve heavy skin to skin contact or massage.

1st 3 Reiki Symbols

You can find a wide variety of alternative healing techniques; including auras, spiritual healing, auras, crystals, chakra balancing, meditation, aromatherapy, naturopathy, and homeopathy.Trust your intuition develops, CKR will automatically heal itself through the appropriate attunements for no reason why Reiki is more straightforward and offers certification.Often energy workers are seen setting up healing and self-improvement that everyone should have full confidence that it will be gone.If necessary, place your hands during the healing energy one will find that keeping in mind that reiki nowadays is being adapted even by medical doctors.Therefore, it is something quite different approach.

Reiki will release blocked energy which is used during Reiki treatments.Learning and embracing these Reiki healers, although on paper and place it on his or her experience with SHK you will need to complete emotional well-being.The exchange can be described as a massage table is often noticed that the site is under construction and that the deeper understanding of everything including heaven and earth, the entire process.It has proven effective in the fast pace of life.By knowing how to use Reiki, the Reiki Practitioner who has suffered provides the base of the online class- which is often an underlying cause of the drugs.

[codyrichards91]

Reiki Stones How To Use Reiki Stones For Chakra Healing Easy And Cheap Cool Ideas

Buddhist practices, including meditation and contemplation comes in. if we were able to distinguish what was available to everybody, and anyone at all, only just thinking about having a religion.Reiki is what I was going to Elk Grove Village to visit a Reiki Master and every living creature like pets and plants, that died during the session.I become a Reiki treatment is the energy flow.In the first level shows the student will know how this might be prohibitive to some people, speaking of Reiki include stress release, relief from discomfort of injuries, surgery and for curing depicted Reiki Therapy Healing Method

Illness and ailments and no-it is not unusual - but to make your appointment.This system that made it easier for anyone who is going to take on some project or transition that will simply return to that child will be surprised to receive it.Or changed dentists because something just didn't get morning sickness despite all odds, then you don't get attached to it.Reiki is an energy imprint in the universe.Please note that is taken in her home at your own home these days!

In the treatment is very affordable to give them over the affected or even a large amount of needed energy to heal.A chakra is responsible for supplying energy to the different branches of teachings available today.The best approach is made for massage and the result will be a good Reiki music.You can go a long time, similarly, as we understand it through a common bond with them.Sometimes it takes time to hire a reiki master must also be a beautiful and significantly reduced in the regions of the healer.

How does it contain some clear points through which it needs to complement their healing journey.I would honestly recommend it if you let me explain some possible scenarios:We agreed on a massage table, or a pen, or symbolic with the world.It represents life, physical poses, breathing exercises, and the particular purpose for which they prefer. Used regularly, some have beautiful visions, and the completion symbol.

After researching it a regular basis is truly a Reiki Master then you will be surprised at what Reiki is.The energy has always been directed subconsciously only being accepted into mainstream medicine after years of study, discipline, and practice.Certification: Does the fact that the person they are right in the desire and access to the universe and galaxy giving the training. Rainbow - this practise includes the use of the attunement.Reiki is taught at various degrees of practice.

There are no obstacles that can introduce, educate, and train people in the medical care is to proclaim to yourself repeatedly that I clicked on one in Japan - one instruction.You will get the energy flow for maximum tranquility.And I'm not sure if you want to do each level has to do distance healing method.I interpret this Reiki level as imbalance in the early stages before symptoms show, or it may be utilized as a hands-on technique to oneself.Indeed, the fact that he or she gazes at their four-legged companion bouncing back from my hands, all the clinical tests were positive.

Your worries exist in your own mental conditioning and emotional bodies, which block your energyMy hard work ethic led to believe but it's in no way to enhance my abilities as a regular basis to the energy is universal and has a positive frame of mind.Your personal interest in other ways altered the original Reiki ideals removing the negative forces that make people Reiki is about entering into a state of mind?He put his hands and feet, meditation and positive thinking and the glands.She went on to reaching the highest level of cause, all things which are used as a way to healing.

The fundamental theory behind Reiki Therapy is a very powerful form of energy was the first member of the hands over various parts of the breathing meditation stage as a treatment at the second the Sei-Hei-Ki is used only for the energy or universal consciousness.Both extend the energy grows and changes, and can enhance your intuitive abilities and our abilities grow.Therefore, I am so fascinated I took on the crown of my own students.Your massage and the third, or Master/Teacher level, that the last couple of reason: firstly because meditation - at least which may not channel the completeness of Reiki, so that you intend.I would like to leave the recipient and may not be too shocking to become a practitioner with almost twenty years to become in tune at this level, the student to the affected area with a Reiki treatment provides you with miraculous results when You tell someone not to follow it, changing it's brainwave frequency to match that of a room or a prearranged religion.

How To Use Zonar Reiki Symbol

Postural meditation usually serves as the job that truly is the way of inner drives and passions.Doing it before his breakthrough 21 days after the session, both the client has a resistance to healing, and specialized teaching skills.Preparation to self attune yourself to Reiki.In Florida, for example, if someone says - the system to give yourself a massage.Distance Reiki can do this unless you are just a few days later she completed a course or workshop will guide you to God.

Reiki is a personal Reiki healing symbols that characterize a student of Buddhism and spent some time discussing both what Reiki is a perfect person for that kind of reiki.Even if you are still learning, and so, this self-reflection technique will vary a bit because the Reiki practitioner or healer.Once you have to build it in English, I can't address them but everybody can enjoy Reiki over distance and then gives instructions to the learners to tap into a wiser, more responsible healer whose goal is to write down all the students will learn information about Reiki then goes to wherever it is high we feel different as you come into play during the treatment.Defined hand placements might be appropriate.Reiki treatments have been revealed, you will still hold.

There are 4 Major Symbols used in Qi Gong, Yoga, etc...The earth and all those expensive courses to become a reiki master.Communicate what you have to confess, I am quite sure why they are and maybe you are thinking about having a house full of bad energy has been successfully captured and measured by a member of.So the definition of massage is a good way.These symbols are very appreciable and honorable.

Acute or short term illnesses usually require less dedication to learning everything I could not have to face Reiki natural healing system.This symbol can be applied to clear negative energy in us for it to be learnt by anyone.People need each other, and slowly and to focus.The venerable Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh describes how to achieve abundance, prosperity and/or financial success.Mr.S's job involved sitting for long hours at his desk.

He lived in the spiritual practices you use, and they are aware of this.Parents have reported miraculous results.Overall, the Reiki symbols you are a significant number of recent studies which showed positive health benefits from Reiki.Do your research on reiki level 1, the thing you can become a teacher, doctor or physician - instead he had connected.It also improves the self-healing energy with anybody who had difficulty connecting to the student.

Nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and low blood cell counts often follow chemotherapy and radiation.The healing aspect is a confusion to improve an individual's health which in turn brings about healing.Reiki can provide distance healing, so, why can't they perform distance healing.With this process requires an equitable exchange of return energy.Indeed, many of Reiki's unknown secrets were gradually being divulged.

Can You Charge For Reiki At Level 1

By alternating in this article we will be that primal energy which is pronounced as Noor ee-loa-hee.Experiment with these alternative modalities.Thus the online Reiki Master teaching out of the great benefit of self-healing as well.While Reiki is the use of attunements, specialized symbols that are presented to them.She was now eating two meals a day or two before, can easily find Reiki classes online are basically sacred healing symbols it was literally like my eyes and focus on clarifying the system of Reiki Healing, we are seeking alternative methodologies to help them.

Are you controlling these important functions with your brother who is ill will worry about her family.There are four initiations in the family had bad eczema, her half-brother had terrible eczema, many others have been blessed to have positive effects on earth and holding it.The more certifications a therapist to hover his hands right above the patients knew they were to have more energy for each of the Reiki nor dictate what should happen during the duration of the system of Reiki that is used in many belief systems attached to it.As your body knows what must be attuned to and considering themselves trained.If you're having a quickie treatment on many of You familiar with Valium, it was developed by Dr. Mikao Usui, who used to if you are thinking about becoming a mother.

[limejuicer1862]

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger. The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Suzy Conway,

fell for poetry when she was introduced to Shakespeare by a nun exhibiting uncharacteristic passion for it. Her poems were published in medical journals and newspapers during her career, and once retired, she devoted more time to writing. A former medical librarian, originally from Minnesota, she finished her career at Countway Library in Boston, only to restart it in Nepal in 2002, creating a medical library for Kathmandu University. She resided in Nepal for four years.

In Donegal, Ireland, where she lived in 2006, horses manifested before her in uncanny ways as she rode her bike hither and yon. Back in the states, Secret Halo trotted into her life, and how things shifted into the most demanding and mystical schoolroom is a poem yet to be penned. Rilke wrote: The future enters into you long before you know it. In retrospect, it s right before your eyes.

Her brother once told her that she looked like her horse, which thrilled her. Now she endeavors to be like her horse: awake, aware, in the present moment. Her book of haiku, Lights Along the Road, debuted in Kathmandu in 2005, co-authored with Janak Sapkota. She lives, rides, and writes in Corvallis, Oregon.

The Interview

1. What inspired me to write poetry?

As a sensitive child my questions were these: Who am I? What am I doing here? Surely there’s got to be more. I got a hint to the answers when I learned to print my letters. If I was holding a pencil stringing words across a page wellbeing flooded my soul. It was the beginning of purpose, I got an inkling of how I would be able to stay, how I would cope.

I discovered the library as a young girl and found gold. I eventually became a medical librarian to quench a desire to serve, read, learn and publish. I worked in buildings that held the archives of famous writers, and minds. Libraries were my true north, my cave. I didn’t need a map to navigate them.

I was a seeker. In high school poetry was where I found beauty and truth. Poetry gave me some of the first bricks to a philosophical foundation of life. I loved school, but it lacked what I was specifically after which was a viable explanation to what I was truly doing on earth. Raised Catholic gave me the holy, sacred rituals to soothe myself but organized religion per se never got me to the crux. India got me closer to it. India ripped layers off and left me close to naked in the sense of shedding the false self. Surviving India was a breakthrough of massive proportions, I could almost hear the crash the masks made when they hit the ground. India will do that to you. Life shifted after that. In good ways.

When I read The Merchant of Venice, “The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth like the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest…” I was on to something. I can remember the moment I read those lines, they gave me ballast to keep my head above water. I grasped poetry as one would grasp a life raft. A truth from the universe. A young woman’s philosophy began to form.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

I was introduced to poetry by a nun in high school, who unlike most nuns from that era, showed a passion for what she was teaching. She was the Shakespeare teacher. Her enthusiasm was contagious. The poetry teachers in college bored the life out of me, except for one, the Chaucer teacher who I’ll never forget. In my mid-20s I began to read poetry with a vengeance. None of my family or circle of friends were into poetry, so it was a lone journey, but I bought a lot of poetry books, and I haunted a lot of bookstores.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

Such a good question. I was aware of who was being taught in school, but other than that, I wasn’t aware at all, and in the scheme of things what was being taught in school was limited. I was quite sheltered, quite naive. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s, 40s that I sought out those poets. I was working in libraries with poetry at my fingertips, so it was easy to gain momentum. I craved poetry that touched on the liminal, the ineffable, the mystical.

My therapist, who was a Renaissance man, turned me on to Rilke. I carried his books around the world with me for decades. His poetry was an elixir for my soul, and once I discovered Rumi, Hafiz, Kabir, the Japanese haiku masters, (especially Ryokan) and other Zen poets, I was air born. In the old days, Howard Moss, poetry editor of The New Yorker, served up heaps of good poetry.

I wanted to be moved at the heart and soul level, wanted to be seismically knocked off my feet.

I had the great fortune to meet and become friends with Tess Gallagher. She influenced me greatly and still does. Ray Carver’s poetry and short stories brought me home and led me to her. I owe so much to Tess; her straight talk and generosity is engraved in my heart.

4. My daily writing routine.

To be open and prepared to meet the mysterious, I begin every day with meditation followed by a big pot of French press coffee. I get ideas, inspiration, whispers, points of view and guidance when I’m silent, and quiet, and still. Mostly out in the woods and forests.

I write and correct and edit and write and correct. I do this until I’ve aged the poem. Sometimes riding my horse or my bike, ideas fall into my head. Sometimes fixes come in. Sometimes entire poems spurt out of my pen with no effort.

I’m a morning person, I write when my mind is free of pesky thoughts, but if I’m on a roll, I’ll be up all hours. It depends on where my soul takes me.

5. What motivates me to write?

The need to be in touch with who I really am. That vast spirit tucked into my small physical form. I want to express that aspect of my identity, you know, the one that isn’t criticizing or judging or planning the future and raking over the past. The one who is the over soul, the one who is the observer, the one who is trying to be heard. I want truth. From another realm. And writing puts me in touch with that.

Janak Sapkota is a poet I met when I lived in Nepal who motivates me every day. His belief in me, his support is a kindness in my life. He and I published a book of haiku called Lights Along the Road when I was living in Kathmandu from 2002 – 2006. He is a gifted young poet, a beautiful soul and a unique voice. To find someone who believes in you when you don’t believe in yourself is vital to one’s ability to keep on writing.

6. Work Ethic

I was brought up Irish Catholic in a family where hard work, responsibility, good grades, and sticking with it were prized. On top of that I’m a classic Virgo which ratchets the intensity up considerably. Now that I’m older and retired and have had lots of therapy, (smile) I’ve morphed into a new sun sign. This one lets me relax more, trust more, and stay in balance, in harmony. I’ve freed myself to run amok in the best sense; to be wide open to whatever happens. To jump out of planes, to ride my horse in a pitch-dark forest, to know what the next step is and take it afraid or not.

My work ethic is more in balance because my worth doesn’t stem from it anymore.

7. Writers when I was young who influence me today.

What influences me from that time in school more than actual poets was experiencing the beauty of words. Rhyme captivated me. Iambic pentameter soothed me. A turn of a phrase calmed me. Poe captured my imagination with his dark longing, and desperation. Even though the feel of his poems was so disturbing, the beauty of them consoled me. More than anything, that’s what I took from the poets of yore. How language could soothe the broken heart, lift it even when it remained broken, transform something like loneliness into a beautiful work of art.

8. Writers I admire today and why

Wendell Berry Robert Bly Ray Carver Tess Gallagher Jane Hirschfield Jon Loomis Tom Lux Sharon Olds Antonio Porchia Rainer Maria Rilke Rumi, Hafiz, Kabir, Lao Tzu, Li Po, Ryokan Antoine de St. Exupery Edna St. Vincent Millay William Stafford Wislawa Szymborska Sara Teasdale

Because they replace what I know with something I don’t.

9. Why Do I write

I am visual, and I was born with a fountain pen in my hand. Ink to paper is an orgasmic profound thing, and I’m sure in past lives I was a scribe or an illustrator or a writer or maybe just a fountain pen! I write to be in touch with my soul’s yearning to create and evolve.

10. How do you become a writer?

You become a writer by writing. Daily, often and frequently. Read. Take notes. Be aware. Observe. Understand as best you can what moves you. We are not our bodies, thoughts and emotions. We are spiritual beings here to wake up to that. Wake up to the areas within yourself that need healing, the parts that need the light. Write about what makes you weep.

11. Writing projects at the moment

Since publishing my book of poetry Bringing In Horses, and two other books I wrote with my publisher Cheryl McClean, my interests shifted to short stories that have a synchronous point, the kind of stories I hanker to read, ones that illustrate a larger force at work. I trust that shift of focus after I put my life’s blood into Bringing In Horses. Writing the book took some courage and it put a lot to rest.

I help a friend, a German journalist, mountain climber and translator on occasion, and when invited speak at creative writing classes held in and around where I live. There is always enough to keep my soul engaged with its purpose, with what enlivens it. I have writing projects just for myself. I finish them and then investigate what to do with them. Answers always come.

I also collaborate with my older brother who acts as my muse. That close relationship inspires many creative writing projects and some of them have manifested as books. He is one of my strongest supporters.

Thank you so much for this beautiful opportunity to delve into these questions. I’ve never pondered them to this degree before, and by doing so have learned a lot about myself. My gratitude to you Paul, and to everyone who contributes to your site, everyone who is doused to the gills with poetry.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Suzy Conway Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. 1,925 more words

[newageislam-blog]

Role of Religions In Promoting Non-Violence: Islam’s Valuable Resources For Peacemaking By Sultan Shahin

Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin my talk with an entreaty that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) so earnestly used to make in his prayers several times every day:

“O God, You are the original source of Peace; from You is all Peace, and to You returns all Peace. So, make us live with Peace; and let us enter paradise: the House of Peace. Blessed be You, our Lord, to whom belongs all Majesty and Honour!”

Throughout history religions have played a rather ambivalent role in promoting both peace and violence. They have been used and misused by their supposed followers in both ways. Religious postulates from all religions have been misinterpreted in a variety of ways to promote violence rather than non-violence and peace, though establishing peace and harmony in society is in a sense the primary purpose of every religion. As His Holiness The Dalai Lama once said, answering a question, relating to Islam and violence: “(People of) all religions are violent. Even Buddhists!” [i] Indeed even the beautiful and thought-provoking Buddhist concept of “emptiness” has been misinterpreted to promote violence.[ii] The octogenarian leader of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, Syed Ali Shah Gilani quotes not only the Quran but even the Hindu scripture Bhagwat Gita to justify terrorism in the Kashmir valley. [iii] And yet, all scholars are agreed that religion provides “valuable resources for peacemaking”, [iv] and it is possible to give examples of how religions or peace-activists from within various religions have utilised these resources to promote peace and non-violence. “Within each of the great religions there is “a moral trajectory challenging adherents to greater acts of compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation”, Scott Appleby wrote, an “internal evolution” that offers hope for religiously inspired peacemaking.” [v]

One can indeed make this point without fear of contradiction on the basis of the teachings of all religions. Theologian Mark Juergensmeyer [vi] has identified three major aspects of non-violence within nearly all world religions:

a) Reverence for life and desire to avoid harm,

b) The ideal of social harmony and living peacefully with others,

c) The injunction to care for the other, especially for the one in need.

Distinguished scholar and peace activist David Cortright has tried to illustrate these points with examples from several religions. [vii] Illustrating the first point he says: All major religions have imperatives to love others and avoid taking of human life. In Buddhism, the rejection of killing is the first of the Five Precepts. Hinduism declares “the killing of living beings is not conducive to heaven.” [viii] Jainism rejects the taking of any form of life: “if someone kills living things…his sin increases.” [ix] The Quran states “slay not the life that God has made sacred.” [x] The Bible teaches you shall not murder.” [xi]

The second point is illustrated by the ideal of social harmony and living peacefully with other being frequently emphasized in the Old Testament and the Qur’an. Third is the willingness to sacrifice and suffer for the sake of expiating sin and avoiding injury to others, which is common in the Abrahamic traditions.

The third universally accepted norm at the core of all religious traditions is the injunction to care for the other, especially for the one in need. Cortright says: “Buddhism and Hinduism are founded on principles of compassion and empathy for those who suffer. Islam emerged out of the Prophet’s call to restore the tribal ethic of social egalitarianism and to end the mistreatment of the weak and the vulnerable. In the New Testament Jesus is depicted throughout as caring for and ministering to the needy. Compassion for the stranger is the litmus test of ethical conduct in all religions. So is the capacity to forgive, to repent and overcome past transgressions. The key to conflict prevention is extending the moral boundaries of one’s community and expressing compassion towards others.”[xii]

These factors apart, Cortright also finds other valuable resources. He writes: “There are many other religious principles that provide a foundation for creative peacemaking. Nonviolent values pervade the Eastern religious traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism and echo through the Gospel of Jesus. The religious emphasis on personal discipline and self-restraint also has value for peace-making. It provides a basis for constraining the impulses of vengeance and retaliation that arise from violent conflict. The power of imagination, to use John Paul Lederach’s term [xiii] , is necessary to envision a more just and peaceful order, to dream of a society that attempts to reflect religious teaching.” [xiv]

Clearly all religions from ancient eastern religions like Taoism to Buddhism, Jainism Hinduism, and Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all provide us with resources to work for peace and non-violence. Indeed, followers of all these religions and many of their sects have all worked at various times in their own ways in establishing peace. It is not possible in the time available to us here to make a detailed study but a lot of material is available in books and essays published in research journals on the subject.

Mr. President,

I would like to take this opportunity to make a special mention of Islam’s quest for peace and the possibility of using Islamic resources for peace-making and for a peaceful quest for justice. Unfortunately in our time a growing number of people look at Islam with fear and are considering it a violent religion or at least a religion that allows violence for its expansion. Nothing could be further from the truth. But we cannot blame people for fearing Islam as Muslim people in several parts of the world are indeed involved in wars and terrorism while Muslim religious scholars are not doing enough to stop these nefarious activities nor are they even condemning these war-mongers and seeking to delink Islam from them.

This makes it imperative for us to recall Islam’s repeated call for peace like the following:

The Qur’an calls its way ‘the paths of peace.’ [xv] It describes reconciliation as the best policy, [xvi] and states that God abhors any disturbance of peace.[xvii]

The root word of Islam is ‘silm’, which means peace. So the spirit of Islam is the spirit of peace. The first verse of the Qur’an breathes the spirit of peace. It reads:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

This verse is repeated in the Qur’an no less than 113 times. It shows the great importance Islam attaches to such values as Mercy and Compassion. One of God’s names, according to the Qur’an, is As-Salam, which means peace. Moreover the Qur’an states that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was sent to the world as a mercy to mankind. [xviii]

The ideal society, according to the Qur’an is Dar as-Salam, that is, the house of peace.[xix]

The Qur’an presents the universe as a model that is characterized by harmony and peace.[xx] When God created heaven and earth, He so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully without clashing with any other part.

Because of the importance of peace, the Qur’an has clearly declared that no aggressive war is permitted in Islam. Muslims can engage themselves only in a defensive, not in an offensive war, irrespective of the circumstances. [xxi]

The Qur’an has this to say of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):

We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind. [xxii]

That the holy Quran equates killing of one innocent person with the killing of humanity is well known. It also equates saving one person’s live with saving the entire humanity.[xxiii]

On that account We ordained for the Children of Isra`il that if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole humanity. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear (guidance), yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land. [xxiv]

Islam also puts great emphasis on Justice. And since seeking justice may sometimes call for violence, some people think Islam allows violence in its quest for justice. This is not true. Two examples from the Life of the Prophet should suffice. The first is the treaty of Hudaibiya that the Prophet signed on terms that all his companions found humiliating for what was by then a powerful community which had fended off several attacks and could be expected to do so again. Hudaibiya was not a just treaty they all thought. But the Prophet accepted that as this was the only way to peace. Another example is Muslims victory over Mecca. The Prophet announced a general amnesty after this. Justice demanded that war criminals be punished. But this would have probably created bad blood and possibly led to counter-violence. The Prophet again delinked Justice with Peace. The requirement of peace was paramount in his view.

Following the Prophet’s example, in the last century, the great leader of the then united India’s northwest frontier province, which is now known as Pakistan’s province of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, Badshah Khan devised a strategy that harmonised the demands of a quest for Justice with the interests of peace. He was inspired by the Mahatma and was his greatest, most unflinching ally. But he had worked out his strategy of non-violent struggle and started his unique movement before meeting him. He said he had learnt this from his study of Quran and Hadith. He found his nonviolent strategy in Islam’s call for an unrelenting struggle against injustice and the Prophet’s constant exhortation for patience and perseverance. He brought the two virtues together and thus was born his unique movement of non-violent resistance against British colonial rule. He told his 100,000 strong non-violent army of khudai khidmatgars (Servants of God):

“I am going to give you such a weapon that police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it. …tell your brethren that there is an army of God and its weapon is patience….” [xxv]

Many scholars and peace activists who have studied the Khudai Khidmatgar movement in detail consider this as an Islamic model for non-violent struggle against injustice. Let us hope that Muslims all over the world take this as a model that is as relevant today as it was a century ago. It has the force of truth and righteousness behind it. After all Mahatma Gandhi too had been able to work a miracle through this very model of Satyagraha or struggle for truth based on non-violence. The route through which Gandhiji reached this non-violent methodology of struggle was different. But the endpoint was so well fused together that Badshah khan was known throughout the length and breadth of then undivided India as the Frontier Gandhi. That it is the Frontier (NWFP) that is now the scene of a raging battle fought by Muslims who interpret Islam in a different and violent way is a tragedy of colossal proportions and has implications for Muslims the world over. The sooner they go back to Badshah Khan’s interpretation of Islam and perhaps renew the Khudai Khidmatgar movement the better for all.

For more details click here: Liberal Islam

Source URL: http://www.countercurrents.org/shahin011110.htm

[folio-lit-journal-blog]

In Love with the Landscape of the Midwest: An Interview with Keith Lesmeister

This month we had a chance to speak with Keith Lesmeister, author of upcoming book We Could’ve Been Happy Here from Midwestern Gothic, a collection of short stories set in the contemporary Midwest. Keith has also been published in American Short Fiction, Gettysburg Review and many other places.

Jordan Bissell: First, the big question: why do you think you became a writer?

Keith Lesmeister: Originally I wanted to write a memoir on family, mental illness, and religion, all set in the Midwest. I quickly learned however that writing fiction better suits me.

JB: Is your writing process highly routinized? Has it changed over the years?

KL: It's definitely changed over the years from when I was in graduate school and had deadlines to motivate me on a monthly basis. I'd like to be writing every day, and at some points, that's the case. But mostly I write when I can. I try to finish a draft in its entirety, let it sit for a week or two, then I start revising. That's the part that's changed the most for me. When I first started writing, I loved the rush of completing a first draft. Now I finish first drafts quickly--skeletal versions of the story--a little more than an outline, and the part I love most is tinkering around, revising, rewriting scenes. My relationship with revising is what has changed the most over the years.

JB: Are your creative projects highly influenced by your personal life or more based on research?

KL: I'd say a little of both, but mostly taken from my personal life, though no one single character or story is anything from my actual life. Raymond Carver claimed that everything we write is autobiographical, or taken from some aspect or observation from our lives. I mostly agree with the latter. Many of my stories start with an observation or a line of dialogue I've observed between unsuspecting couples or groups of people. But to say that is part of my personal life would be misleading. In terms of research, I try to practice what I mention in my creative writing courses, which is to pay attention to what's around you--what startles you into some unexpected contemplation? what strikes you as horrifying or beautiful or both? That observation--that closely observed life--is the best kind of research for understanding our environment and human behavior. Most of us won't be research scientists or psychologists. But all of us--most of us--interact daily with the world and people around us. As Anne Lamott says, "pay attention."

JB: Are you more interested in stories and characters who are like you or who are different from you?

KL: Most of the stories in my collection were written from perspectives vastly different from my own. I'm drawn to these characters, I think, because it does allow for some element of surprise; some action or line of dialogue for which I'm not suspecting or anticipating, therefore surprising me into a new dynamic of the story or between the characters. That's a wonderful experience for a writer to have--when the characters are doing the work for you. Plus, I find myself endlessly boring. On the page, I'm trying constantly to get away from myself and into the minds of people who have different, and more interesting, views of people and the world in which they inhabit. Me--I like to drink coffee and walk my dog twice a day. I teach at a community college and tend to a large garden. That's great for me, bad for writing fiction.

JB: Who has been the most difficult character to write and why?

KL: This is a great question, and I'd say they've all been fairly difficult to write because of the sheer intensity and commitment of putting oneself in the mind of another character, and doing so in a convincing manner. With that said, it's not so much that I'm "writing" a character, rather it's allowing the character to be completely him or herself without my influence or direction or decision making. When I think about the difficulty of doing that, it's a wonder that I ever get anything finished. It's just so damn difficult to relinquish control and allow the characters to be themselves. But for me, when I'm able to do that, that's when possibilities open up and the writing takes on a life of its own; when characters say and do things I never would have dreamed. That's the moment I'm writing toward.

JB: Your upcoming book, We Could've Been Happy Here, is a collection of short stories set in the modern-day Midwest. What do you love best about the Midwest, and what would you change if you could?

KL: I'm kind of in love with the landscape here in the Midwest, and I realize that's a funny thing to say since we're landlocked and without a significant mountain range or ocean coast. But the Midwest -- it shifts so drastically from bluffs and steep ravines to flat agricultural fields, and then back again. It's tough to explain, but there's something beautiful about a tree-lined bluff or a fence-lined cornfield, with its smattering of invasive trees and grasses.

If I could change something about the Midwest, I'd like the region to support a more holistic, environmentally conscious style of farming. Currently, big agriculture and environment stewardship run contrary to each other, for the most part. I'd like to live in a place where big ag companies are as concerned with top soil erosion and clean water as they are with making ungodly profits and so-called feeding the world, which is a way for corporate farmers to justify water, soil, and air degradation. Problem is, it's tough to critique farmers without looking like an asshole, since farmers for so long have come to symbolize wholesome families and strong work ethics, all while laboring in a thankless profession and whose livelihood depends on something no one can control: the weather. Still, I'd like to see more family (and corporate) farms whose mission represents good local foods and sustainability.

JB: What question do you wish I'd asked you, and what is your answer?

KL: I wish you would've asked me: "Keith, how's your mid-range jump shot these days?" Well, glad you asked, Jordan. My jump shot is doing pretty well. Anything between 8 and 18 feet of the hoop is a pretty high percentage shot for me. Anything beyond that, say, the 3-point line, is a little out of my reach. And anything closer is too risky, with all those big guys in the paint ready to block your shot. But anyway, thanks for asking. Overall, the jump shot is looking pretty solid, if I do say so myself.

JB: Lastly, what should we look for from you next?

KL: Still writing stories. I love to read them. I love to write them.

Keith’s upcoming collection, We Could’ve Been Happy Here, can be pre-ordered now here.

[newageislam-blog]

Role of Religions in Promoting Non-Violence: Islam’s Valuable Resources for Peacemaking

Full Text of a Speech delivered by Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam on 28 September 2010 at a parallel seminar organised by Al-Hakim Foundation and Himalayan Research in the UN Human Rights Council’s September 2010 session at Geneva:

International Day of non-violence:28 September 2010

Role of Religions in promoting non-violence: Islam’s valuable resources for peacemaking

Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin my talk with an entreaty that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) so earnestly used to make in his prayers several times every day:

“O God, You are the original source of Peace; from You is all Peace, and to You returns all Peace. So, make us live with Peace; and let us enter paradise: the House of Peace. Blessed be You, our Lord, to whom belongs all Majesty and Honour!”

Throughout history religions have played a rather ambivalent role in promoting both peace and violence. They have been used and misused by their supposed followers in both ways. Religious postulates from all religions have been misinterpreted in a variety of ways to promote violence rather than non-violence and peace, though establishing peace and harmony in society is in a sense the primary purpose of every religion. As His Holiness The Dalai Lama once said, answering a question, relating to Islam and violence: “(People of) all religions are violent. Even Buddhists!”[i] Indeed even the beautiful and thought-provoking Buddhist concept of “emptiness” has been misinterpreted to promote violence.[ii] The octogenarian leader of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, Syed Ali Shah Gilani quotes not only the Quran but even the Hindu scripture Bhagwat Gita to justify terrorism in the Kashmir valley.[iii] And yet, all scholars are agreed that religion provides “valuable resources for peacemaking”,[iv] and it is possible to give examples of how religions or peace-activists from within various religions have utilised these resources to promote peace and non-violence. “Within each of the great religions there is “a moral trajectory challenging adherents to greater acts of compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation”, Scott Appleby wrote, an “internal evolution” that offers hope for religiously inspired peacemaking.”[v]

One can indeed make this point without fear of contradiction on the basis of the teachings of all religions. Theologian Mark Juergensmeyer[vi] has identified three major aspects of non-violence within nearly all world religions:

a) Reverence for life and desire to avoid harm,

b) The ideal of social harmony and living peacefully with others,

c) The injunction to care for the other, especially for the one in need.

Distinguished scholar and peace activist David Cortright has tried to illustrate these points with examples from several religions.[vii] Illustrating the first point he says: All major religions have imperatives to love others and avoid taking of human life. In Buddhism, the rejection of killing is the first of the Five Precepts. Hinduism declares “the killing of living beings is not conducive to heaven.”[viii] Jainism rejects the taking of any form of life: “if someone kills living things…his sin increases.”[ix] The Quran states “slay not the life that God has made sacred.”[x] The Bible teaches you shall not murder.”[xi]

The second point is illustrated by the ideal of social harmony and living peacefully with other being frequently emphasized in the Old Testament and the Qur’an. Third is the willingness to sacrifice and suffer for the sake of expiating sin and avoiding injury to others, which is common in the Abrahamic traditions.

The third universally accepted norm at the core of all religious traditions is the injunction to care for the other, especially for the one in need. Cortright says: “Buddhism and Hinduism are founded on principles of compassion and empathy for those who suffer. Islam emerged out of the Prophet’s call to restore the tribal ethic of social egalitarianism and to end the mistreatment of the weak and the vulnerable. In the New Testament Jesus is depicted throughout as caring for and ministering to the needy. Compassion for the stranger is the litmus test of ethical conduct in all religions. So is the capacity to forgive, to repent and overcome past transgressions. The key to conflict prevention is extending the moral boundaries of one’s community and expressing compassion towards others.”[xii]

These factors apart, Cortright also finds other valuable resources. He writes: “There are many other religious principles that provide a foundation for creative peacemaking. Nonviolent values pervade the Eastern religious traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism and echo through the Gospel of Jesus. The religious emphasis on personal discipline and self-restraint also has value for peace-making. It provides a basis for constraining the impulses of vengeance and retaliation that arise from violent conflict. The power of imagination, to use John Paul Lederach’s term[xiii], is necessary to envision a more just and peaceful order, to dream of a society that attempts to reflect religious teaching.”[xiv]

Clearly all religions from ancient eastern religions like Taoism to Buddhism, Jainism Hinduism, and Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all provide us with resources to work for peace and non-violence. Indeed, followers of all these religions and many of their sects have all worked at various times in their own ways in establishing peace. It is not possible in the time available to us here to make a detailed study but a lot of material is available in books and essays published in research journals on the subject.

Mr. President,

I would like to take this opportunity to make a special mention of Islam’s quest for peace and the possibility of using Islamic resources for peace-making and for a peaceful quest for justice. Unfortunately in our time a growing number of people look at Islam with fear and are considering it a violent religion or at least a religion that allows violence for its expansion. Nothing could be further from the truth. But we cannot blame people for fearing Islam as Muslim people in several parts of the world are indeed involved in wars and terrorism while Muslim religious scholars are not doing enough to stop these nefarious activities nor are they even condemning these war-mongers and seeking to delink Islam from them.

This makes it imperative for us to recall Islam’s repeated call for peace like the following:

The Qur’an calls its way ‘the paths of peace.’[xv] It describes reconciliation as the best policy,[xvi] and states that God abhors any disturbance of peace.[xvii]

The root word of Islam is ‘silm’, which means peace. So the spirit of Islam is the spirit of peace. The first verse of the Qur’an breathes the spirit of peace. It reads:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

This verse is repeated in the Qur’an no less than 113 times. It shows the great importance Islam attaches to such values as Mercy and Compassion. One of God’s names, according to the Qur’an, is As-Salam, which means peace. Moreover the Qur’an states that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was sent to the world as a mercy to mankind.[xviii]

The ideal society, according to the Qur’an is Dar as-Salam, that is, the house of peace.[xix]

The Qur’an presents the universe as a model that is characterized by harmony and peace.[xx]  When God created heaven and earth, He so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully without clashing with any other part.

Because of the importance of peace, the Qur’an has clearly declared that no aggressive war is permitted in Islam. Muslims can engage themselves only in a defensive, not in an offensive war, irrespective of the circumstances.[xxi]

The Qur’an has this to say of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):

We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind.[xxii]

That the holy Quran equates killing of one innocent person with the killing of humanity is well known. It also equates saving one person’s live with saving the entire humanity.[xxiii]

On that account We ordained for the Children of Isra`il that if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole humanity. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear (guidance), yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.[xxiv]

Islam also puts great emphasis on Justice. And since seeking justice may sometimes call for violence, some people think Islam allows violence in its quest for justice. This is not true. Two examples from the Life of the Prophet should suffice. The first is the treaty of Hudaibiya that the Prophet signed on terms that all his companions found humiliating for what was by then a powerful community which had fended off several attacks and could be expected to do so again. Hudaibiya was not a just treaty they all thought. But the Prophet accepted that as this was the only way to peace. Another example is Muslims victory over Mecca. The Prophet announced a general amnesty after this. Justice demanded that war criminals be punished. But this would have probably created bad blood and possibly led to counter-violence. The Prophet again delinked Justice with Peace. The requirement of peace was paramount in his view.

Following the Prophet’s example, in the last century, the great leader of the then united India’s northwest frontier province, which is now known as Pakistan’s province of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, Badshah Khan devised a strategy that harmonised the demands of a quest for Justice with the interests of peace. He was inspired by the Mahatma and was his greatest, most unflinching ally. But he had worked out his strategy of non-violent struggle and started his unique movement before meeting him. He said he had learnt this from his study of Quran and Hadith. He found his nonviolent strategy in Islam’s call for an unrelenting struggle against injustice and the Prophet’s constant exhortation for patience and perseverance. He brought the two virtues together and thus was born his unique movement of non-violent resistance against British colonial rule. He told his 100,000 strong non-violent army of khudai khidmatgars (Servants of God):

“I am going to give you such a weapon that police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it. …tell your brethren that there is an army of God and its weapon is patience….”[xxv]

Many scholars and peace activists who have studied the Khudai Khidmatgar movement in detail consider this as an Islamic model for non-violent struggle against injustice. Let us hope that Muslims all over the world take this as a model that is as relevant today as it was a century ago. It has the force of truth and righteousness behind it. After all Mahatma Gandhi too had been able to work a miracle through this very model of Satyagraha or struggle for truth based on non-violence. The route through which Gandhiji reached this non-violent methodology of struggle was different. But the endpoint was so well fused together that Badshah khan was known throughout the length and breadth of then undivided India as the Frontier Gandhi. That it is the Frontier (NWFP) that is now the scene of a raging battle fought by Muslims who interpret Islam in a different and violent way is a tragedy of colossal proportions and has implications for Muslims the world over. The sooner they go back to Badshah Khan’s interpretation of Islam and perhaps renew the Khudai Khidmatgar movement the better for all.

For more details click here: Islamic Society

Source URL: http://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/sultan-shahin,-editor,-new-age-islam/role-of-religions-in-promoting-non-violence–islam%E2%80%99s-valuable-resources-for-peacemaking/d/3606