Okay, so this one will also go into the Magic colors again, but that will be kept to a minimum.
One of the topics that interested me was the main difference between the end-game spiritual goals of Jesus and Hinduism. On one hand, we have the desire for improving the world around us by creating something akin to a heaven-on-earth where everyone is an equal part of society, yet still all recognized as individuals (Jesus' ideals). On the other, we have the desire to achieve spiritual enlightenment and become absorbed back into the universe, ceasing to exist as a single being (Hinduism). Where the Magic colors come in is in comparing the two to the combinations known as Naya (Red/Green/White) for Jesus, and Bant (Green/White/Blue) for Hinduism.
The main difference in the two is how the concept of the individual is treated. For Jesus, the individual is important to recognize, as long as such recognition does not supersede the community aspect of the Kingdom of God that Jesus hopes to create. For Hinduism, the eventual goal is to completely remove the individual identity and become one with the whole. For Magic, the similar aspects of the two ideologies is easy: being part of a system that hopes for spiritual growth for all (at least if given enough time), which takes care of the Green/White part of the combinations. Jesus' idea of keeping some importance on the individual, as well as showing compassion and caring for those around you (a central part of the Kingdom of God) clearly adds Red to the mix (Red being the color of emotion and individual ideals). Hinduism on the other hand seeks to distance itself from the ego as much as possible, which is the domain of Blue (the only color to focus on an absence of emotion), as well as the idea of achieving perfection through spiritual enlightenment (Blue is obsessed with being perfect).
So I guess for a question, I'm not sure I have one. Just more insight into my way of processing things I guess.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Colors of systems
Remember those references to Magic the Gathering I threatened to make in that first blog post?
Now I'll actually be using them.
The part that struck me most about the class discussion on Tuesday was the differences between the system our world seems to run on currently, the system the Jesus seems to have wanted people to follow, how people act when disaster strikes, and where the homeless and their life-style fits into all of this.
The system we currently have reflects the style known as Orzhov (White and Black mana together), using a highly structured and hierarchical system that keeps everyone in a near-permanent state of debt, while slowing grinding away at one's morality in return for greater monetary wealth. White is for the structure and order, Black is for the corruption and ever-mounting avarice.
Jesus' proposed ideas of creating a Kingdom of God here and now by actually being decent people when dealing with one another most closely fits another two-color combination sometimes called Selesnya (Green and White mana). This combination focuses the most on creating a society that cares for and works towards the betterment of all those who are a part of this community. This is also the color-combination of those who are involved in disasters, doing whatever they can to help those around them. However, I would also argue that Jesus' ideals also have aspects of Red mana, which emphasizes emotions, including compassion, as well as a sense of at least understanding individuality that would go along with Jesus' ideas of no-one having authority over others.
As you probably noticed, Jesus' ideals and our current way of running things share one color, White mana, but they use it differently. Our current Orzhov-like way of doing things uses White as a foundation and structure that resists changes to it's core way of running things. Jesus' use of White works more along the lines of caring about everyone and creating equality. As I mentioned in that first post, all five colors of Magic can be positive or negative, depending on how they are used.
Finally, those who are blessed, the homeless, also fit another color-combination: Green and Black. This combination shows up a lot in those who are at the bottom rungs of society, with people make use of whatever they can get their hands on in order to survive. They really aren't focused on anything other than themselves (Black) and surviving for another day (Green).
As a final note, yes this really is how my thought-process works most of the time. I figure out what categories and terms fit with whatever is being discussed, and process the information that way. It's not always Magic, but that just happened to work especially well for this topic. Adios.
Now I'll actually be using them.
The part that struck me most about the class discussion on Tuesday was the differences between the system our world seems to run on currently, the system the Jesus seems to have wanted people to follow, how people act when disaster strikes, and where the homeless and their life-style fits into all of this.
The system we currently have reflects the style known as Orzhov (White and Black mana together), using a highly structured and hierarchical system that keeps everyone in a near-permanent state of debt, while slowing grinding away at one's morality in return for greater monetary wealth. White is for the structure and order, Black is for the corruption and ever-mounting avarice.
Jesus' proposed ideas of creating a Kingdom of God here and now by actually being decent people when dealing with one another most closely fits another two-color combination sometimes called Selesnya (Green and White mana). This combination focuses the most on creating a society that cares for and works towards the betterment of all those who are a part of this community. This is also the color-combination of those who are involved in disasters, doing whatever they can to help those around them. However, I would also argue that Jesus' ideals also have aspects of Red mana, which emphasizes emotions, including compassion, as well as a sense of at least understanding individuality that would go along with Jesus' ideas of no-one having authority over others.
As you probably noticed, Jesus' ideals and our current way of running things share one color, White mana, but they use it differently. Our current Orzhov-like way of doing things uses White as a foundation and structure that resists changes to it's core way of running things. Jesus' use of White works more along the lines of caring about everyone and creating equality. As I mentioned in that first post, all five colors of Magic can be positive or negative, depending on how they are used.
Finally, those who are blessed, the homeless, also fit another color-combination: Green and Black. This combination shows up a lot in those who are at the bottom rungs of society, with people make use of whatever they can get their hands on in order to survive. They really aren't focused on anything other than themselves (Black) and surviving for another day (Green).
As a final note, yes this really is how my thought-process works most of the time. I figure out what categories and terms fit with whatever is being discussed, and process the information that way. It's not always Magic, but that just happened to work especially well for this topic. Adios.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Life Embellished
So the topic from last class that struck me the most was looking at the Gospels as works of fiction, instead of biographies. The idea of creating recordings of a person's life that is intentionally embellished, as well as known by all the readers (or listeners as it may be) that the story is embellished because stating just the facts of the biography would not be sufficient to convey the necessary level of awe required for such a great figure of history.
What also interested me about this topic was the fact that the idea that the Gospels are a literal truth only came about due to institutionalization of the religion. Only when the religion became large enough to require institutional organization did it become something that allows for fanaticism to take over. One wonders what that says about humankind on the whole.
What also interested me about this topic was the fact that the idea that the Gospels are a literal truth only came about due to institutionalization of the religion. Only when the religion became large enough to require institutional organization did it become something that allows for fanaticism to take over. One wonders what that says about humankind on the whole.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Adventure We Have Along the Way.
So the idea of the "Noble Goals" and the eventual realization of what humans really want in life was what really interested me in our last class. Since the idea behind them is that, no matter which of the goals you pursue, eventually you will realize they aren't what you are looking for. Which reminds me of one of my favorite manga: One Piece.
The main character of the series, Monkey D. Luffy, is traveling the world in order to become the "King of Pirates", and find a legendary treasure left behind by the greatest pirate who ever lived, one Gold/ Gol D. Roger (no family relation between the two). Now, granted this is a decent (and challenging) goal that ends up being somewhere between the Noble Goals of Success and Pleasure (part of the reason Luffy is doing this is simply for the sake of having an adventure), however, the one question that has been bugging me about the series is: What happens once Luffy obtains his goal? Knowing his character, he will just keep sailing the seas until the day he dies, but once he finds the One Piece, what else will there be left for him to do?
This kind of problem shows up a lot in stories, but never really gets addressed. After all, the stated goal of many a fictional villain (cliched of otherwise) has been to rule the world, but they never say what they want to do once they have obtained their goal. Granted, they always end up getting defeated in the end, but the question still stands. And I think the the idea of the Noble Goals really does a good job of addressing that problem. Though I would argue that there is one problem with the concept of the Noble Goals, and their idea of what people really want: They don't really mention the idea that maybe achieving the goal, be it Wealth, Fame, Power, Pleasure, Joy, Enlightnement, Reuniting with Brahman, what have you, isn't ever the point. Maybe the point is the seeking, and the life you live while trying to attain your goal.
I'm not saying that the Gita had the wrong idea, I'm just pointing out that there is something they might have left out. Thoughts anyone?
The main character of the series, Monkey D. Luffy, is traveling the world in order to become the "King of Pirates", and find a legendary treasure left behind by the greatest pirate who ever lived, one Gold/ Gol D. Roger (no family relation between the two). Now, granted this is a decent (and challenging) goal that ends up being somewhere between the Noble Goals of Success and Pleasure (part of the reason Luffy is doing this is simply for the sake of having an adventure), however, the one question that has been bugging me about the series is: What happens once Luffy obtains his goal? Knowing his character, he will just keep sailing the seas until the day he dies, but once he finds the One Piece, what else will there be left for him to do?
This kind of problem shows up a lot in stories, but never really gets addressed. After all, the stated goal of many a fictional villain (cliched of otherwise) has been to rule the world, but they never say what they want to do once they have obtained their goal. Granted, they always end up getting defeated in the end, but the question still stands. And I think the the idea of the Noble Goals really does a good job of addressing that problem. Though I would argue that there is one problem with the concept of the Noble Goals, and their idea of what people really want: They don't really mention the idea that maybe achieving the goal, be it Wealth, Fame, Power, Pleasure, Joy, Enlightnement, Reuniting with Brahman, what have you, isn't ever the point. Maybe the point is the seeking, and the life you live while trying to attain your goal.
I'm not saying that the Gita had the wrong idea, I'm just pointing out that there is something they might have left out. Thoughts anyone?
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