Yeah, that heavens gate stuff is the metaphysical pyramid I am always running up against. The mind forms explanations, and in this society they become rules instead of shields, which is what an explanation truly is.
People don't remember ancient warfare, but the shield was there to break or blunt the attack. That's how an explanation is supposed to work, on the mental octave.
Instead we get hosts of maniacs foisting their insanity upon an increasingly insane society.
Funny enough Michael Tsarion recently did a podcast with Black Earth Productions on how the shield is a metaphor of essentially hiding behind women's skirts in regards to the cults and brotherhoods behind the curtain. Everything has dual meanings and all are true depending on ones state of mind. The shield can blunt an attack or be used as a tool to cower depending on the individual much like a bunker provides shelter to regroup or even surprise the enemy. In the case of our ignoble pretenders a bunker is nothing more than a place to hide from the problems they created.
A man who fights even if dishonorable and ruthless I can respect, but with a coward nothing is gained. The weasels and traitors are born from the taint of cowardliness buried deep within them that not even they are cognizant of why they do what they do.
Greg, consider the Othalla and what it represents, not just in battle. Shield Maidens in unison with spear or ax wielding males. Some battle fields in the Baltic had equal amount of remains from both sexes.
I'm not familiar with Tsarion, or his work, but I will attempt to clarify my point.
If we travel enough in the mystical, we discover that what most take for granted as solid, predictable reality is anything but. There are few guideposts, and the scope is quite vast. There are times when events are so incredibly stunning, that they leave one extremely vulnerable.
It is especially during such times that an explanation dulls the overpowering nature of the events enough to allow oneself to rally. Thus the explanation is both a shield and a tool.
Heavens Gate was certainly a case where the terror of the unknown was magnified, in order to empower their own explanation. This type of manipulation is so completely overused that I'm amazed no one sees it. This attempt to enshrine an explanation prevents it from ever being an effective shield. Instead, it's more like a heavy stone, carried around and never set down.
One can, and even should take great care in choosing their shields, for once they become a burden, one can easily become their slave.
Yeah, that heavens gate stuff is the metaphysical pyramid I am always running up against. The mind forms explanations, and in this society they become rules instead of shields, which is what an explanation truly is.
People don't remember ancient warfare, but the shield was there to break or blunt the attack. That's how an explanation is supposed to work, on the mental octave.
Instead we get hosts of maniacs foisting their insanity upon an increasingly insane society.
Funny enough Michael Tsarion recently did a podcast with Black Earth Productions on how the shield is a metaphor of essentially hiding behind women's skirts in regards to the cults and brotherhoods behind the curtain. Everything has dual meanings and all are true depending on ones state of mind. The shield can blunt an attack or be used as a tool to cower depending on the individual much like a bunker provides shelter to regroup or even surprise the enemy. In the case of our ignoble pretenders a bunker is nothing more than a place to hide from the problems they created.
A man who fights even if dishonorable and ruthless I can respect, but with a coward nothing is gained. The weasels and traitors are born from the taint of cowardliness buried deep within them that not even they are cognizant of why they do what they do.
Greg, consider the Othalla and what it represents, not just in battle. Shield Maidens in unison with spear or ax wielding males. Some battle fields in the Baltic had equal amount of remains from both sexes.
I'm not familiar with Tsarion, or his work, but I will attempt to clarify my point.
If we travel enough in the mystical, we discover that what most take for granted as solid, predictable reality is anything but. There are few guideposts, and the scope is quite vast. There are times when events are so incredibly stunning, that they leave one extremely vulnerable.
It is especially during such times that an explanation dulls the overpowering nature of the events enough to allow oneself to rally. Thus the explanation is both a shield and a tool.
Heavens Gate was certainly a case where the terror of the unknown was magnified, in order to empower their own explanation. This type of manipulation is so completely overused that I'm amazed no one sees it. This attempt to enshrine an explanation prevents it from ever being an effective shield. Instead, it's more like a heavy stone, carried around and never set down.
One can, and even should take great care in choosing their shields, for once they become a burden, one can easily become their slave.