Author: Christopher Peterson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198037333
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 815
Book Description
"Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees. Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life.
Character Strengths and Virtues
Author: Christopher Peterson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198037333
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 815
Book Description
"Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees. Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198037333
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 815
Book Description
"Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees. Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life.
Virtues and Defects, The world in 2023
Author: Ricardo M. Díaz
Publisher: Ricardo M. Díaz
ISBN:
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 47
Book Description
Various poems or writings (with a specific theme) that describe real world situations. Each writing has an in-depth explanation at the end of the book separated by chapters. Specifically, they describe realities from the time of COVID-19, when there was a global pandemic and subsequent months. Topics are covered such as: heroes, gender violence, the fact of enjoying a good summer, consequences of a war war...
Publisher: Ricardo M. Díaz
ISBN:
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 47
Book Description
Various poems or writings (with a specific theme) that describe real world situations. Each writing has an in-depth explanation at the end of the book separated by chapters. Specifically, they describe realities from the time of COVID-19, when there was a global pandemic and subsequent months. Topics are covered such as: heroes, gender violence, the fact of enjoying a good summer, consequences of a war war...
The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Art
Author: James Harold
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197539793
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 793
Book Description
"Art has not always had the same salience in philosophical discussions of ethics that many other elements of our lives have. There are well-defined areas of "applied ethics" corresponding to nature, business, health care, war, punishment, animals, and more, but there is no recognized research program in "applied ethics of the arts" or "art ethics." Art often seems to belong to its own sphere of value, separate from morality. The first questions we ask about art are usually not about its moral rightness or virtue, but about its beauty or originality. However, it is impossible to do any serious thinking about the arts without engaging in ethical questions"--
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197539793
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 793
Book Description
"Art has not always had the same salience in philosophical discussions of ethics that many other elements of our lives have. There are well-defined areas of "applied ethics" corresponding to nature, business, health care, war, punishment, animals, and more, but there is no recognized research program in "applied ethics of the arts" or "art ethics." Art often seems to belong to its own sphere of value, separate from morality. The first questions we ask about art are usually not about its moral rightness or virtue, but about its beauty or originality. However, it is impossible to do any serious thinking about the arts without engaging in ethical questions"--
Defective Institutions
Author: Jacques Lezra
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 1531506933
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 315
Book Description
Defective Institutions overturns the basis of institutionalism. Faith in classic institutions—exposed as clamorously inadequate by the failure of governance under neoliberalism--does not result in greater democracy, greater horizontality, or more equitable living. Nor does trust in the standing of decisions, in the authority of antecedent cases, in the coherence, strength, continuity, or solidity of the institutions that frame and render legitimate these decisions and the rules they buttress. To the contrary: the classically-imagined institution and our faith in it lie at the heart of neoliberal unfreedom and racialized violence. Working at the point of contact and conflict between socialist and anarcho-philosophical traditions, Defective Institutions offers an alternative, which is also an alternative to the figures of governance associated with the liberal conception of the state: an aberrant republicanism comprised of defective institutions, run through with the necessity of their abolition. Lezra’s book moves from the primitive scenes of Western political institution—the city; the family; the university; the first person; “race”—through recent work in the philosophy of translation, decolonial studies, abolitionism, Afropessimism and its critiques, psvchoanalysis, and musicology. To offer an original wedding of abolition and institution, Lezra brings together genealogies of contemporary institutionalism (from Durkheim and Hauriou to Searle); post-Marxist accounts of the state (Balibar, Abensour); philosophical and anthropological anarchism (Wolff, Malabou, Graeber, Scott); critical legal theory (analyses of Marbury v. Madison as well as Dobbs v. Jackson); continental and analytic versions and critiques of foundationalism (Heidegger, Lyotard and Butler; Quine, Searle and Fine); and political and sociological abolitionism (Lewis, O’Brien). At a time when some call for strengthening institutions and for defending liberties ostensibly protected by such institutions, and others long for the destruction of institutions that have long been oppressive, Lezra’s book offers today’s Left a new framework for confronting institutions’ necessity and their necessary abolition.
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 1531506933
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 315
Book Description
Defective Institutions overturns the basis of institutionalism. Faith in classic institutions—exposed as clamorously inadequate by the failure of governance under neoliberalism--does not result in greater democracy, greater horizontality, or more equitable living. Nor does trust in the standing of decisions, in the authority of antecedent cases, in the coherence, strength, continuity, or solidity of the institutions that frame and render legitimate these decisions and the rules they buttress. To the contrary: the classically-imagined institution and our faith in it lie at the heart of neoliberal unfreedom and racialized violence. Working at the point of contact and conflict between socialist and anarcho-philosophical traditions, Defective Institutions offers an alternative, which is also an alternative to the figures of governance associated with the liberal conception of the state: an aberrant republicanism comprised of defective institutions, run through with the necessity of their abolition. Lezra’s book moves from the primitive scenes of Western political institution—the city; the family; the university; the first person; “race”—through recent work in the philosophy of translation, decolonial studies, abolitionism, Afropessimism and its critiques, psvchoanalysis, and musicology. To offer an original wedding of abolition and institution, Lezra brings together genealogies of contemporary institutionalism (from Durkheim and Hauriou to Searle); post-Marxist accounts of the state (Balibar, Abensour); philosophical and anthropological anarchism (Wolff, Malabou, Graeber, Scott); critical legal theory (analyses of Marbury v. Madison as well as Dobbs v. Jackson); continental and analytic versions and critiques of foundationalism (Heidegger, Lyotard and Butler; Quine, Searle and Fine); and political and sociological abolitionism (Lewis, O’Brien). At a time when some call for strengthening institutions and for defending liberties ostensibly protected by such institutions, and others long for the destruction of institutions that have long been oppressive, Lezra’s book offers today’s Left a new framework for confronting institutions’ necessity and their necessary abolition.
The Complete Harvard Anthology of the Greatest Works of World Literature
Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 24734
Book Description
The Complete Harvard Anthology of the Greatest Works of World Literature stands as a monumental contribution to the global literary canon, showcasing an unparalleled assembly of works across diverse genres, cultures, and epochs. This anthology traverses the full spectrum of literary artistry, from the philosophical dialogues of Plato and the tragedies of Aeschylus to the seminal novels of Miguel de Cervantes and the revolutionary scientific treatises by Charles Darwin. The collection not merely catalogs literary masterpieces but also endeavors to reveal the interconnectedness of human thought and culture, underlining standout contributions from fields as varied as literature, philosophy, and the natural sciences. The array of literary styles and thematic concerns represented here promises a rich tapestry of human experience and intellectual pursuit, capturing the essence of human creativity and inquiry throughout the ages. The contributing authors and editors of The Complete Harvard Anthology are not only titans in their respective fields but also emblematic of the historical and cultural contexts from which they emerged. From ancient philosophers like Marcus Aurelius to Renaissance polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci, and onward to Enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith and Romantic poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley, this anthology encapsulates a multitude of perspectives that have shaped human history and thought. The diverse backgrounds of these contributors ensure that the collection stands as a testament to the myriad ways in which the human condition and the quest for knowledge have been articulated across time and space, fostering an understanding of the intricate tapestry of global cultural and literary movements. This anthology is an indispensable treasure for any reader eager to embark on an expansive journey through the annals of world literature. It opens up a unique opportunity to engage with the thoughts, dreams, and imaginations of humanity's greatest minds, offering an educational experience that transcends mere literary enjoyment. Readers are invited to explore the depth and breadth of insights presented, encouraging a dialogue between the myriad voices and perspectives encapsulated within. For scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike, The Complete Harvard Anthology of the Greatest Works of World Literature is not just a collection of writings but a gateway to the world's intellectual heritage, promising an enriching exploration of the human spirit encapsulated in the written word.
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 24734
Book Description
The Complete Harvard Anthology of the Greatest Works of World Literature stands as a monumental contribution to the global literary canon, showcasing an unparalleled assembly of works across diverse genres, cultures, and epochs. This anthology traverses the full spectrum of literary artistry, from the philosophical dialogues of Plato and the tragedies of Aeschylus to the seminal novels of Miguel de Cervantes and the revolutionary scientific treatises by Charles Darwin. The collection not merely catalogs literary masterpieces but also endeavors to reveal the interconnectedness of human thought and culture, underlining standout contributions from fields as varied as literature, philosophy, and the natural sciences. The array of literary styles and thematic concerns represented here promises a rich tapestry of human experience and intellectual pursuit, capturing the essence of human creativity and inquiry throughout the ages. The contributing authors and editors of The Complete Harvard Anthology are not only titans in their respective fields but also emblematic of the historical and cultural contexts from which they emerged. From ancient philosophers like Marcus Aurelius to Renaissance polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci, and onward to Enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith and Romantic poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley, this anthology encapsulates a multitude of perspectives that have shaped human history and thought. The diverse backgrounds of these contributors ensure that the collection stands as a testament to the myriad ways in which the human condition and the quest for knowledge have been articulated across time and space, fostering an understanding of the intricate tapestry of global cultural and literary movements. This anthology is an indispensable treasure for any reader eager to embark on an expansive journey through the annals of world literature. It opens up a unique opportunity to engage with the thoughts, dreams, and imaginations of humanity's greatest minds, offering an educational experience that transcends mere literary enjoyment. Readers are invited to explore the depth and breadth of insights presented, encouraging a dialogue between the myriad voices and perspectives encapsulated within. For scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike, The Complete Harvard Anthology of the Greatest Works of World Literature is not just a collection of writings but a gateway to the world's intellectual heritage, promising an enriching exploration of the human spirit encapsulated in the written word.
Real life thrills in the seven brains of the heart, not in the whims and wobbles of the mind
Author: William Quan Judge
Publisher: Philaletheians UK
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 85
Book Description
Do not think too much of me, direct your thoughts to the Eternal Truth. For only he who is free from the heresy of separateness, brought forth by false self-identity and self-importance, can rise above the trappings of personal life and live for others. Never seek knowledge or power for any other purpose than to sacrifice it on the altar of the Great Heart, which is humanity at large. Do not fear nor fail because you feel dark and heavy. After a while, the very rage you feel will break the shrine that covers the mystery. No one can really help you till then. The “moment of choice” between good and evil, between white and black magic, is neither in space nor in time, it is the momentum of all those moments in the battle between unselfish and selfish impulses taking place in those who try to follow the higher purposes of Nature. I am my friends and my enemies, I feel them all. I am the poor, the wicked, the ignorant. Those moments of gloom are the moments when I am influenced by those ignorant ones, who are myself. Duty lies in the act itself. Our duty is to never consider our ability, but to do what needs to be done in whatever way we can, no matter how inadequate the work may appear to others. We are not the only ones to suffer upon the path. Like ourselves Masters have wept, though They do not weep any longer. Sadness comes from an appreciation of the difficulties in our way, and of the unspeakable wickedness of the human heart. The Divine Spirit, which overshadows the soul of every man, is the throne of the Invisible and Unknown God. If you reflect on That, little room will be left for sorrow or delusion. Please don’t be anxious. Insist on Carelessness. Anxiety obscures and deters. Fear and anxiety are a formidable barrier against progress, by perturbation and straining harshly. Anxiety densifies and perturbs our magnetic sphere (aura), thus rendering us less permeable to the efflux of inner life and love. Immediate rebirth is for those who are working with their heart on Master’s work and are free from self interest. Nothing foreign to Master can pollute the pure heart; our faults are not there. The heart reaches Him always, and He replies. He needs not to stoop to see our devotion for devotional love, being of a supernal quality, reaches anywhere. Even in the most menial sorts of labour, the moment a man begins working, his soul enters into a state of harmony and peace. On the plane of social intercourse words are things, but soulless and dead because that convention in which they have their birth has made abortions of them. Let us then choose with care those living messengers called words. When the soul turns its attention to the astral plane, its energy is transferred from the gross material plane to a more subtle plane composed of imponderable matter, and we then have an influx of many confused dreams and strange experiences, whether awake or asleep. Clairvoyants and untrained seers cannot distinguish between psychic and spiritual perceptions. The age is black as hell, hard as iron. Yet noble hearts keep fighting the ancient fight. They seek each other and help each other. We will not fail them. To fail would be nothing, but to stop working for Humanity and the Brotherhood of Man would be awful; we cannot and will not. The student of Occultism must either reach the goal or perish. Those who rush unprepared and before the ripe moment risk insanity. But then that insanity is their safety for the next life, or for their return to sanity. The road to heavens is dark and difficult because we do not live up to our highest ideals. And as we hamstrung by our own weaknesses, it’s no use blaming others for our own shortcomings. Egoism is a sign of shameful cowardice. The egocentric man is insignificant and helpless. All our obstructions are of our own making. All our power is drawn from the storehouse of the past. Let us love and worship humanity, instead of self, and all shall be well. Even selfishness is love, though tainted and misdirected. Let us live for each other, forgetting ourselves in the midst of so many selves who, as formerly and forever, are but our own phantasms of thinking throblets, and all shall be well. Drink the cup of life without a murmur to the last drop, whatever Karma may have in store for you. The lesson in your present life is sweet Patience that nothing can ruffle. Higher Patience is a fine line between pride and humility. Both are extremes and mistakes. How shall we be proud when we are so small? How dare we be humble when we are so great? In both we blaspheme. Regret is productive only of error. Regret is a thought, hence an energy. If we turn its tide upon the past, it plays upon the seeds of that past and vivifies them; it causes them to sprout and grow in the mind and, from thence, expression in action is but a step. Evil is the infernal end of the polarity of spirit-matter. Evil-devil is the dark side of good, yet a mighty motor on the eternal struggle of the two ever-Opposing Forces — Light versus Darkness, Buddhi versus Kama-Manas — dual aspects of the One Manifested Creative Power, which keeps building worlds and thinks through man. Like Ormuzd and Ahriman, good and evil are inseparable and interdependent. We cannot murder Life but we can destroy a vehicle of the divine Principle of Life and impede the course of a soul using that vehicle. We far more injured by this atrocious deed than by any other. It is the man of clay that sins, not the innocent Higher Ego self-imprisoned within us and spectator of our life, who suffers and weeps silently at our cruelty. Condemn the sin not the Sinner. Higher, as within us all, the divine spirit looks down in the secure knowledge that, when the lower nature has subsided into its spiritual source, all this struggle and play of force and will, this waxing and waning of forms, this progression of consciousness that throws up clouds and fumes of illusion before the eye of the soul, will have come to an end. But the real test of a man is his motive, which we neither see, nor do his acts always represent it. If acts of valour are motivated by self-interest, they are still virtuous acts, but they will not elevate the actor and will throw his calculations off-kilter. Nature strives to contain spirit, and spirit strives to be free. Despondency, doubt, fear, vanity, pride, self-satisfaction, are traps used by Nature to detain us on earth. The kind of thoughts that appeal to our senses, and which fascinate and transfix us, is another snare set by Nature lest we discover her inmost secret and rule her. Spirituality is no virtue, it is divine impersonality. Spirituality is the rootless root of all things, unborn, exempt from dissolution, eternal, and beyond the condition of spirit. In essence and substance, It is the Whole of this Universe. Death disappoints the Self for it is neither productive of real knowledge nor of service to the living. Death is the sudden lowering of a stage curtain only to be raised again at the beginning of the next act. The living have a greater part in the dead than the dead have in the living. Rise, then, from this despondency. With the sword of Knowledge and with Love, you can “become one with the great tides of being, and reach the peaceful place of safe self-forgetfulness at last.” In dreams we see the truth and taste the joys of heaven. In waking life we gradually distil that dew into our consciousness. Let thy pulses beat to heaven’s own music. Despise the life that only seeks its own. Listen to the words of the Great Teachers. Good company removes the dullness of intellect, infuses truth into speech, bestows great honour, removes sin, purifies the heart, and spreads fame in all directions. Evil company should be shunned because it gives rise to lust, anger, delusion, memory loss, discrimination loss and, at long last, total loss of one’s “Infinite Potency born from the concealed Potentiality.” Spreading like ripples at first, evil company swells vices to large-scale waves in an ocean of misery. Is there any hope for the aspirant who has no heredity of psychical development to call upon, who is not introspective by nature, and with no access to chelas for guidance reach? There is, if he purifies his motive, and cultivates an ardent and unwavering faith and devotion to the Masters who are Truth personified, though They are not yet known to him. They are generous and honest debtors, and always repay. Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Great White Lodge, the magnificent hierarchy of Masters, Gurus, and Chelas all over the world. Every aspirant to chelaship has a Guru, although he many not be aware of it. Guru is chela’s benefactor. If we have reverenced our teacher, we will now revere our unknown Guru. We must place our hand in his hand with all love, and trust, and confidence, for it is to mighty Karma we have appealed, and the Guru is an agent of Karma. Madame Blavatsky sacrificed all that mankind holds dear to bring the glad tidings of Theosophy to the West through the Theosophical Society, which thereby stands to her as a chela to his Guru. She is our next higher link in the Guruparampara chain, of which no link can be missed or by-passed. Those who try to reach The Masters by other means while disregarding or underrating scornfully her high services, violate an occult rule that cannot be broken with impunity. The limitations of self impede progress. Unless the intention is entirely unalloyed, the spiritual will transform itself into the psychic and, by acting on the astral plane, dire results may be produced by it. The highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity will become sullied with selfishness if, in the mind of the philanthropist, there lurks the shadow of a desire for self-benefit, or a tendency to do injustice, even when these exist unconsciously to himself. The powers of evil revenge themselves upon the ignorant man and his friends, and not upon those who are beyond their reach. As long we hope and desire, we shall remain apart from the Self. We are rich in hope, knowing the prize at the end of time, and are not deterred by the clouds, the storms, the miasmas, and the dreadful beasts of prey that line the road. Let us then, at the very outset, wash out of our souls all desire for reward, all hope that we may attain what we sought. We may perhaps have found one spot we may call our own, and possess no other qualification for the task. That spot is enough, it is our wholly unshaken belief in Self and the Masters. That spot is our Higher Ego, symbolised by Homer as the wild fig tree, which Odysseus took hold of it and clung to it like a bat, in order to escape falling into the whirlpool of passions below. Beware of the dreadful lures, the great causes of misery, inflamed by the malignant fever of scepticism. They keep us ensnared in our earthy prison. Compassion is the Divine Law of Universal Sympathy and Sacrifice. Overseen by Spiritual Intelligences above, Compassion is enacted by the Intelligence of Nature and Her dual forces below. Deity is Unerring Karma or Abstract Nature — the Mind and Soul of the Universe.
Publisher: Philaletheians UK
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 85
Book Description
Do not think too much of me, direct your thoughts to the Eternal Truth. For only he who is free from the heresy of separateness, brought forth by false self-identity and self-importance, can rise above the trappings of personal life and live for others. Never seek knowledge or power for any other purpose than to sacrifice it on the altar of the Great Heart, which is humanity at large. Do not fear nor fail because you feel dark and heavy. After a while, the very rage you feel will break the shrine that covers the mystery. No one can really help you till then. The “moment of choice” between good and evil, between white and black magic, is neither in space nor in time, it is the momentum of all those moments in the battle between unselfish and selfish impulses taking place in those who try to follow the higher purposes of Nature. I am my friends and my enemies, I feel them all. I am the poor, the wicked, the ignorant. Those moments of gloom are the moments when I am influenced by those ignorant ones, who are myself. Duty lies in the act itself. Our duty is to never consider our ability, but to do what needs to be done in whatever way we can, no matter how inadequate the work may appear to others. We are not the only ones to suffer upon the path. Like ourselves Masters have wept, though They do not weep any longer. Sadness comes from an appreciation of the difficulties in our way, and of the unspeakable wickedness of the human heart. The Divine Spirit, which overshadows the soul of every man, is the throne of the Invisible and Unknown God. If you reflect on That, little room will be left for sorrow or delusion. Please don’t be anxious. Insist on Carelessness. Anxiety obscures and deters. Fear and anxiety are a formidable barrier against progress, by perturbation and straining harshly. Anxiety densifies and perturbs our magnetic sphere (aura), thus rendering us less permeable to the efflux of inner life and love. Immediate rebirth is for those who are working with their heart on Master’s work and are free from self interest. Nothing foreign to Master can pollute the pure heart; our faults are not there. The heart reaches Him always, and He replies. He needs not to stoop to see our devotion for devotional love, being of a supernal quality, reaches anywhere. Even in the most menial sorts of labour, the moment a man begins working, his soul enters into a state of harmony and peace. On the plane of social intercourse words are things, but soulless and dead because that convention in which they have their birth has made abortions of them. Let us then choose with care those living messengers called words. When the soul turns its attention to the astral plane, its energy is transferred from the gross material plane to a more subtle plane composed of imponderable matter, and we then have an influx of many confused dreams and strange experiences, whether awake or asleep. Clairvoyants and untrained seers cannot distinguish between psychic and spiritual perceptions. The age is black as hell, hard as iron. Yet noble hearts keep fighting the ancient fight. They seek each other and help each other. We will not fail them. To fail would be nothing, but to stop working for Humanity and the Brotherhood of Man would be awful; we cannot and will not. The student of Occultism must either reach the goal or perish. Those who rush unprepared and before the ripe moment risk insanity. But then that insanity is their safety for the next life, or for their return to sanity. The road to heavens is dark and difficult because we do not live up to our highest ideals. And as we hamstrung by our own weaknesses, it’s no use blaming others for our own shortcomings. Egoism is a sign of shameful cowardice. The egocentric man is insignificant and helpless. All our obstructions are of our own making. All our power is drawn from the storehouse of the past. Let us love and worship humanity, instead of self, and all shall be well. Even selfishness is love, though tainted and misdirected. Let us live for each other, forgetting ourselves in the midst of so many selves who, as formerly and forever, are but our own phantasms of thinking throblets, and all shall be well. Drink the cup of life without a murmur to the last drop, whatever Karma may have in store for you. The lesson in your present life is sweet Patience that nothing can ruffle. Higher Patience is a fine line between pride and humility. Both are extremes and mistakes. How shall we be proud when we are so small? How dare we be humble when we are so great? In both we blaspheme. Regret is productive only of error. Regret is a thought, hence an energy. If we turn its tide upon the past, it plays upon the seeds of that past and vivifies them; it causes them to sprout and grow in the mind and, from thence, expression in action is but a step. Evil is the infernal end of the polarity of spirit-matter. Evil-devil is the dark side of good, yet a mighty motor on the eternal struggle of the two ever-Opposing Forces — Light versus Darkness, Buddhi versus Kama-Manas — dual aspects of the One Manifested Creative Power, which keeps building worlds and thinks through man. Like Ormuzd and Ahriman, good and evil are inseparable and interdependent. We cannot murder Life but we can destroy a vehicle of the divine Principle of Life and impede the course of a soul using that vehicle. We far more injured by this atrocious deed than by any other. It is the man of clay that sins, not the innocent Higher Ego self-imprisoned within us and spectator of our life, who suffers and weeps silently at our cruelty. Condemn the sin not the Sinner. Higher, as within us all, the divine spirit looks down in the secure knowledge that, when the lower nature has subsided into its spiritual source, all this struggle and play of force and will, this waxing and waning of forms, this progression of consciousness that throws up clouds and fumes of illusion before the eye of the soul, will have come to an end. But the real test of a man is his motive, which we neither see, nor do his acts always represent it. If acts of valour are motivated by self-interest, they are still virtuous acts, but they will not elevate the actor and will throw his calculations off-kilter. Nature strives to contain spirit, and spirit strives to be free. Despondency, doubt, fear, vanity, pride, self-satisfaction, are traps used by Nature to detain us on earth. The kind of thoughts that appeal to our senses, and which fascinate and transfix us, is another snare set by Nature lest we discover her inmost secret and rule her. Spirituality is no virtue, it is divine impersonality. Spirituality is the rootless root of all things, unborn, exempt from dissolution, eternal, and beyond the condition of spirit. In essence and substance, It is the Whole of this Universe. Death disappoints the Self for it is neither productive of real knowledge nor of service to the living. Death is the sudden lowering of a stage curtain only to be raised again at the beginning of the next act. The living have a greater part in the dead than the dead have in the living. Rise, then, from this despondency. With the sword of Knowledge and with Love, you can “become one with the great tides of being, and reach the peaceful place of safe self-forgetfulness at last.” In dreams we see the truth and taste the joys of heaven. In waking life we gradually distil that dew into our consciousness. Let thy pulses beat to heaven’s own music. Despise the life that only seeks its own. Listen to the words of the Great Teachers. Good company removes the dullness of intellect, infuses truth into speech, bestows great honour, removes sin, purifies the heart, and spreads fame in all directions. Evil company should be shunned because it gives rise to lust, anger, delusion, memory loss, discrimination loss and, at long last, total loss of one’s “Infinite Potency born from the concealed Potentiality.” Spreading like ripples at first, evil company swells vices to large-scale waves in an ocean of misery. Is there any hope for the aspirant who has no heredity of psychical development to call upon, who is not introspective by nature, and with no access to chelas for guidance reach? There is, if he purifies his motive, and cultivates an ardent and unwavering faith and devotion to the Masters who are Truth personified, though They are not yet known to him. They are generous and honest debtors, and always repay. Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Great White Lodge, the magnificent hierarchy of Masters, Gurus, and Chelas all over the world. Every aspirant to chelaship has a Guru, although he many not be aware of it. Guru is chela’s benefactor. If we have reverenced our teacher, we will now revere our unknown Guru. We must place our hand in his hand with all love, and trust, and confidence, for it is to mighty Karma we have appealed, and the Guru is an agent of Karma. Madame Blavatsky sacrificed all that mankind holds dear to bring the glad tidings of Theosophy to the West through the Theosophical Society, which thereby stands to her as a chela to his Guru. She is our next higher link in the Guruparampara chain, of which no link can be missed or by-passed. Those who try to reach The Masters by other means while disregarding or underrating scornfully her high services, violate an occult rule that cannot be broken with impunity. The limitations of self impede progress. Unless the intention is entirely unalloyed, the spiritual will transform itself into the psychic and, by acting on the astral plane, dire results may be produced by it. The highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity will become sullied with selfishness if, in the mind of the philanthropist, there lurks the shadow of a desire for self-benefit, or a tendency to do injustice, even when these exist unconsciously to himself. The powers of evil revenge themselves upon the ignorant man and his friends, and not upon those who are beyond their reach. As long we hope and desire, we shall remain apart from the Self. We are rich in hope, knowing the prize at the end of time, and are not deterred by the clouds, the storms, the miasmas, and the dreadful beasts of prey that line the road. Let us then, at the very outset, wash out of our souls all desire for reward, all hope that we may attain what we sought. We may perhaps have found one spot we may call our own, and possess no other qualification for the task. That spot is enough, it is our wholly unshaken belief in Self and the Masters. That spot is our Higher Ego, symbolised by Homer as the wild fig tree, which Odysseus took hold of it and clung to it like a bat, in order to escape falling into the whirlpool of passions below. Beware of the dreadful lures, the great causes of misery, inflamed by the malignant fever of scepticism. They keep us ensnared in our earthy prison. Compassion is the Divine Law of Universal Sympathy and Sacrifice. Overseen by Spiritual Intelligences above, Compassion is enacted by the Intelligence of Nature and Her dual forces below. Deity is Unerring Karma or Abstract Nature — the Mind and Soul of the Universe.
Shakespeare and Virtue
Author: Julia Reinhard Lupton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108910432
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 796
Book Description
This volume maps Shakespearean virtue in all its plasticity and variety, providing thirty-eight succinct, wide-ranging essays that reveal a breadth and diversity exceeding any given morality or code of behaviour. Clearly explaining key concepts in the history of ethics and in classical, theological, and global virtue traditions, the collection reveals their presence in the works of Shakespeare in interpersonal, civic, and ecological scenes of action. Paying close attention to individual identity and social environment, chapters also consider how the virtuous horizons broached in Shakespearean drama have been tested anew by the plays' global travels and fresh encounters with different traditions. Including sections on global wisdom, performance and pedagogy, this handbook affirms virtue as a resource for humanistic education and the building of human capacity.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108910432
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 796
Book Description
This volume maps Shakespearean virtue in all its plasticity and variety, providing thirty-eight succinct, wide-ranging essays that reveal a breadth and diversity exceeding any given morality or code of behaviour. Clearly explaining key concepts in the history of ethics and in classical, theological, and global virtue traditions, the collection reveals their presence in the works of Shakespeare in interpersonal, civic, and ecological scenes of action. Paying close attention to individual identity and social environment, chapters also consider how the virtuous horizons broached in Shakespearean drama have been tested anew by the plays' global travels and fresh encounters with different traditions. Including sections on global wisdom, performance and pedagogy, this handbook affirms virtue as a resource for humanistic education and the building of human capacity.
Islamic Naturalism and Mysticism
Author: Hawi
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004661743
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004661743
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
The Complete Harvard Classics (2022 Edition)
Author: Plato
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 24734
Book Description
The Complete Harvard Classics (2022 Edition) stands as a monumental anthology, encapsulating the quintessence of human thought and creativity across millennia. This collection showcases an unparalleled diversity of literary styles and philosophies, ranging from the foundational texts of Western philosophy, pivotal works of English literature, to the profound musings of Eastern wisdom. The anthology is distinguished not only by its broad temporal span but also by the variety of its contents, including philosophy, poetry, scientific discourse, and political theory, making it an essential compendium for any scholar or enthusiast. Highlighted works offer readers a unique lens through which to explore the complexities of human nature, society, and the universe. The contributing authors to The Complete Harvard Classics are titans in their respective fields, whose works collectively underpin much of the contemporary Western canon. The backgrounds of these authors span ancient civilizations to the Enlightenment and beyond, intersecting with key historical, cultural, and literary movements. Their collective genius offers a rich tapestry of human experience and intellectual endeavor, reflecting the evolution of thought and the diversity of human inquiry over centuries. For readers seeking a comprehensive understanding of the intellectual heritage that has shaped modern thought, The Complete Harvard Classics (2022 Edition) promises an unparalleled journey. This anthology not only affords readers the opportunity to engage with the seminal works of legendary thinkers but also fosters a deep appreciation for the rich dialogue between different epochs and perspectives. It invites readers to embark on a scholarly voyage that transcends the conventional boundaries of knowledge, encouraging a deeper exploration of the human condition and its manifold expressions across time. For its breadth of insight, educational value, and the dialogue it engenders, this collection is an indispensable treasure for any library.
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 24734
Book Description
The Complete Harvard Classics (2022 Edition) stands as a monumental anthology, encapsulating the quintessence of human thought and creativity across millennia. This collection showcases an unparalleled diversity of literary styles and philosophies, ranging from the foundational texts of Western philosophy, pivotal works of English literature, to the profound musings of Eastern wisdom. The anthology is distinguished not only by its broad temporal span but also by the variety of its contents, including philosophy, poetry, scientific discourse, and political theory, making it an essential compendium for any scholar or enthusiast. Highlighted works offer readers a unique lens through which to explore the complexities of human nature, society, and the universe. The contributing authors to The Complete Harvard Classics are titans in their respective fields, whose works collectively underpin much of the contemporary Western canon. The backgrounds of these authors span ancient civilizations to the Enlightenment and beyond, intersecting with key historical, cultural, and literary movements. Their collective genius offers a rich tapestry of human experience and intellectual endeavor, reflecting the evolution of thought and the diversity of human inquiry over centuries. For readers seeking a comprehensive understanding of the intellectual heritage that has shaped modern thought, The Complete Harvard Classics (2022 Edition) promises an unparalleled journey. This anthology not only affords readers the opportunity to engage with the seminal works of legendary thinkers but also fosters a deep appreciation for the rich dialogue between different epochs and perspectives. It invites readers to embark on a scholarly voyage that transcends the conventional boundaries of knowledge, encouraging a deeper exploration of the human condition and its manifold expressions across time. For its breadth of insight, educational value, and the dialogue it engenders, this collection is an indispensable treasure for any library.
Postcolonlsm
Author: Diana Brydon
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000887782
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
First published in 2004. This is Volume II of Postcolonialism part of a series of critical concepts in literary and cultural studies. This edition includes part four National, Third World and Postcolonial Identities, part five covering Colonial Discourse Analysis.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000887782
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
First published in 2004. This is Volume II of Postcolonialism part of a series of critical concepts in literary and cultural studies. This edition includes part four National, Third World and Postcolonial Identities, part five covering Colonial Discourse Analysis.