Live Now Die Later: A Book for the Sensitive Mind and Rugged IndividualistThe sensitive mind and the rugged individualist are portrayed in the literature of antiquity by two brothers, the first-born and the second-born. The mind is the father of two sons. One side of us is conservative, cautious; the other side is radical and adventurous. A part of us is content with the status quo; another part of us seeks change and improvement. The mind perceives first with the outer five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell. Those perceptions are recorded and processed for future use, and thus the mind has five inner senses, the second-born son. In the Old and New Testaments this concept is expressed through several pairs of brothers. Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin, Aaron and Moses, John and Jesus are all characters created to illustrate the mind's journey. The eastern Mediterranean became a marketplace for the exchange of ideas that had their provenance not just in Athens or Alexandria, but made their way westward from India and China well over 2,000 years ago. The lunar calendar and the appearance of the full moon was not just vital to agriculture in Mesopotamia; it spawned metaphors that illustrated the mind at its brightest. Abraham, for example, Hebrew for "father is high," was a moon god who symbolized the full moon, i. e., the moon straight up or high. "Father" is high because the mind is the father of two sons. Obviously, many concepts evolved independently, but migration and commerce exported and imported more than just figs and wine. Adam and Eve, the male and female of Genesis, are reflected in the yang and the yin of Taoism in ancient China. Elizabeth, Mary and Jesus are a variation of Demeter, Persephone and Dionysus. Thinkers over the ages have struggled to come to terms with the rough and tumble of daily life. Some have even suggested that life begins in some faraway place after death. Others have tried to find the way to live now and die later. |
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And he said unto the woman , Yea , hath God said , Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ? And the serpent said unto the woman , Ye shall not surely die.10 Tree mythologies bloomed in the ancient world .
For as the Father hath life in himself ; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.68 We are told early on in life to follow a certain path , college , law ...
And your father hath deceived me , and changed my wages ten times ; but God suffered him not to hurt me.88 We may be buffeted about by difficulties , just as Jacob toiled long and hard in the land of Laban to discover that not every ...
God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of mine hands , and rebuked thee yesternight.91 Jacob draws a line in the sand , demarcates the spot with a pillar of stones , and makes a covenant with Laban . He is promising himself that ...
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph , Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this , there is none so discreet and wise as thou art . 117 114 Genesis 39 : 2 115 Genesis 41:16 116 Genesis 41 : 29-30 117 Genesis 41:39 Such a mind is no longer ...
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Live Now Die Later: A Book for the Sensitive Mind and Rugged Individualist David Alan Kraul No preview available - 2004 |