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Heard this continuation of Zhuangzi's dream.* ...So then the Japanese patrol captured Zhuangzi and interrogated him. Why are you planting explosives all over our military trains routes and derailing our trains, they asked. And he's, like, I have no idea what you're talking about, I'm a butterfly, I don't interfere in your military affairs. -- And what did the interrogators do? -- What could they do, they put him in front of the firing squad and woke him up. -- And then what happened? -- What could happen? He's flying somewhere out there, visiting this flower, then that flower... *from an accomplished martial artist who thinks he's a taoist -- but far as I can tell, the only taoist thing about him is his zhuangzesque sense of the absurd. Which is good enough for me -- better than what many others who think of themselves as taoists have to show to justify the self-identification.

i always like revisiting the book in link above. The drawings and names, of bones and muscles, help me visualize and locate and work with specific areas. I am fond of anatomy and physiology books and charts And yes it is a great exercise to move my point of awareness around within the physical body. Typically it rests behind my eyes. I believe it IS important, because for me it illustrates and reiterates that "i am not my body." A teacher has us do additional exercises in this vein. One is to move the point of awareness outside the physical body, and view the body from that vantage point, say up in the corner of the room and see myself sitting typing at the computer. And then another exercise is to hold both views simultaneously. See the aerial view of me at the computer from my point of awareness up in the corner of the room; and at the same time my point of awareness is still behind my eyes in my physical body. That one feels clunkier. Teacher describes it as feeling strange but that it can become as natural as being able to hear and see at the same time (which is also dealing with two streams of data at the same time). I don't do the both views at the same time very often. But I do the point of awareness outside the body regularly. Teacher also has us do this while we are moving, for instance outside on my daily walk in nature my point of awareness is oh say 10 feet higher than my head, and five feet to the right and five feet behind as the body walks. This shifts the framework entirely, from oh my awareness is in the physical body; to instead oh the physical body is in my awareness. For me this is important, and as the post phrases it, it brings me peace of mind. It is a felt sense of oh! this is the truth of who i am. It just feels very natural and clear to be a point of awareness. Indeed, i am not my body. ---------------- [Extending this even further, everything physical (not just the physical body) is in my awareness. In that scenario (another exercise) my awareness expands from a point to be much "bigger" and it holds and contains the walking path, the building, the trees, the town, the continent, the planet, the universe and everything in it. That is an even bigger shift in the belief system. But it demonstrates what that pesky phrase means "you contain the whole world". Literally it's all in your head, like that other phrase about the physical world has no more substance than a dream, or is an illusion.] Those are some of the exercises that teacher has us doing .

If you're capable of structuring your own learning, you can always work through their curriculum yourself. There's obviously degrees of information you won't receive or have access to, but it can give you a chance to familiarize yourself with everything they teach before you pay them to teach you the "next level" of those subjects, if that's something they're able to do. Maybe halfway through self-study, you realize you're not interested in this path as a means of spiritual development. Or maybe you realize it's everything you want to pursue, and you'll feel more confident in your choice to take the classes. The first four years lead to an exam and the joining of their order, with monthly membership meetings and other trainings, retreats, and projects. That means you'll be joining a community and forming deep bonds, possibly sharing intimate things about yourself and placing yourself in a vulnerable position at the mercy of your teachers and community (and paying a lot of money to do so!). So it's important to consider if you want to join their order, if you trust the leaders, if you want camaraderie and growth with the sorts of people who take the courses and eventually join the order, etc. If you enmesh yourself for the sake of information at the expense of relationships, you may eventually face backlash from those who have formed attachments (be those attachments "negative" or "positive"). You mentioned undergoing therapy. Starting school or a new job is difficult enough, and doing so while in therapy is even more challenging. Add magic mysteries and unknown motives, and the weight of activity could be debilitating. It's important to know what you can handle at each level. I'm of the mindset that you will find what you seek, so as others have pointed out, make sure you know what it is that you're seeking. Colloquially, be careful what you wish for. Year 1 - First Step MT101 - Meditation - Essentials to control one's mind EW101 - Energy Cultivation - Core exercises to raise one's energy levels TE101 - Visualization - Introductory training opening of the Third Eye EW102 - Fireball - Creating and manipulating energy objects Year 2 - Developing Core EW103 - Lower Dantian - Accumulation and storage of raw power EW105 - Self-Regulation - Chakra maintenance work that improves energy flow and well-being OW108 - Astral Travel - Awareness of subtle bodies and OBE training AM101 - Magic - Introduction to the Magic system through Arcana System Year 3 - Awakening OW109 - Dreamworld - Exploration of dream worlds, you'll learn skills of remembering dreams, mapping and navigation TE102 - Magus Hall - Continuation of TE101 that activates the Third Eye MT102 - Ego Shedding - Focus on freeing the mind from impediments, negative constructs, and shackles AM122 - The Fool - A module focused on the first of the Major Arcana Year 4 - Becoming Adept AM121 - The Success - Studying the energy of 21 Arcanum - The World AM119 - The Sun - Studying energy of 19 Arcanum - The Sun AM118 - The Moon - Studying energy of 18 Arcanum - The Moon PM106 - Elemental Magic - Exploring the Magic of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth - Parametrization of object scanning

Yes but that is only because of the deep and complex associations you have between Luke and your own animus towards your Animus . Now the usual associations of Animus : Emma Jung complements by saying that this lack of discrimination makes women more open to the unconscious and they often discover and appraise spiritual values more quickly than men. During the time I worked as a meditation teacher, I could verify that, these places tend to be full of women trying to connect with their spiritual sides and men often dismiss these pursuits as something “irrational” that doesn’t make any sense, in general, men tend to have a prejudice against Erotic values.“If we ask ourselves why second sight and the art of prophecy are ascribed to woman, the answer is that in general she is more open to the unconscious than man. Receptivity is a feminine attitude, presupposing openness and emptiness, wherefore Junghas termed it the great secret of femininity. Moreover, the feminine mentality is less averse to irrationality than the rationally oriented masculine consciousness, which tends to reject everything not conforming to reason and so frequently shuts itself off from the unconscious. In the Phaedrus Plato criticizes this over-reasonable attitude – especially in the matter of love – and praises the irrational, even the insane, insofar as it may be a divine gift” (Emma Jung – The Animus and Anima, p. 52).This Eros identification will generate an unconscious Logos and we know that the nature of the unconscious is to be personified, so the masculine image we find is denominated animus and it will behave like a complex with its own “personality”.“By the term animus l understand the masculine spirit or unconscious mind of woman. Emma Jung pointed out recently that one should differentiate very carefully here between the anima and the animus. The anima, as is well known, is Jung’s term for the feminine soul of man. But it is really a contradiction in terms to speak of the animus as the masculine soul in woman. (This error was made in the early days of Jungian psychology and is still often done today.) In latin the word animus means intellect, memory, consciousness, character, and spirit. It is often equated with “mind” and is also used to mean courage, vivacity, bravery, and will. In Jungian psychology it is used primarily to denote the phenomenon of “spirit” in women, and the contrast between the feminine soul (anima) and the masculine spirit (ani­mus) gives us a valuable hint as to the difference between these two figures” (Barbara Hannah – The Animus, p. 2).The animus contains all the qualities that can balance the conscious Eros, however, if the animus remains unconscious, it acquires this dark, tyrannical, and possessive quality, it escapes the conscious will and also suffocates the Eros principle. Here, we have to state the obvious and say that we live in a society dominated by the Logos principle and culturally we tend to devalue everything that has to do with Eros. Naturally, many women fall prey to these social values and devalue everything that has to do with the feminine. This generates a tendency to feel inferior and women forsake their own natures and seek to identify with more traditionally masculine values, and this obviously gives immense power to a negative animus.That’s why dealing with the animus requires that we start valuing everything that has to do with the feminine and Eros again. Women have to feel proud of who they are and don’t conform to social norms that suffocate their personalities. It’s only when we make the effort to make these figures conscious that they start to cooperate and open the possibility for individuation and unravel our inner gold, as these figures are always paradoxical, the relationship with them can either take or give life. In general, we can say that the Eros is always more interested in personal relationships than objective and impersonal facts. It gives the woman immense sensibility as she can perceive nuances in relationships that frequently escape a man entirely. Naturally, everything that has to do with Logos will be a blind spot. In that sense, the animus works mainly as an opinionating substitute:“In general the animus personifies the spirit in woman while the anima represents the soul in man. In general we can say that, at the more rudimentary levels, the animus in the woman is the producer of opinions whereas the anima in man produces moods. But actually the part of the animus to which we can react and with which we can make contact is the merest fraction of the entity of spirit in the woman. In real life, women generally deal not with the entire animus but with that part of the animus which is mostly an opinionating substitute for the depths of the spirit. This would be the spirit of rationalization which indefatigably occupies itself with making these opinions seem logical, at least as seen from the point of view of the woman or of the collective society” (Barbara Hannah – The Animus, p. 2).What happens is that the animus infiltrates a woman’s train of thought and falsifies her reality with opinions that tend to be extremely critical, demeaning, and one-sided, and they appear to be the absolute truth. It’s something the woman just assumes is the right thing, when in reality, she never really thought about it, it’s something ready-made. Barbara Hannah says that Jung has often pointed out that when the animus interferes in a woman’s daily life, it’s usually in a place where she hasn’t given the matter her fullest conscious consideration and particularly where she fails in the realm of feeling. A very simple example that I hear all the time revolves around perfectionism. With phrases like, “If don’t do it with absolute perfection it’s not even worth trying”. Or “If I’m going to clean the house I have to spend six hours scrubbing every inch of it or it doesn’t count”. Or even, “If I don’t get straight 10’s I’m an absolute failure”. When you can’t find a middle term, you can be sure that the animus is operating. Also, the animus works with very impersonal and collective opinions about how people should be and act and how a relationship should work. It’s like a formula that if it isn’t followed everything is wrong. When you ask where did this come from, they love to say “People have always done it like this,” or “Everybody says it is like that”. When the animus is operating the woman loses that personal relatedness, because these opinions get in the way of her connection with the truth and individuality of the other person, and seeing the objective reality.We can see this operating with comments like “Every man is like this” or “Every man treats women in such and such way”. Or comments like why they can’t have any female friends because “Every female is judgmental and they’re never truthful”. Or rules about how the perfect mother should be, or how a wife should behave. You can see that these are very impersonal opinions, and these rules prevent women from connecting with others on an individual level. Because if every man is in a determined way how is she going to know him as an individual? … Everything he does will be filtered through these assumptions. The Eros isn’t limited to relationships, so everything that has to do with the body, the five senses, and pleasure will also suffer. With thoughts like how you can’t have any fun and relax because you always have to be productive. If you’re going traveling, for instance, everything has to be done in an exact order, leaving no room for spontaneity, there are always rules for fun. Another pattern is thoughts about how being in touch with their own bodies is a sin and disgusting. Lastly, many women have to deal with demeaning thoughts about their appearance, their capabilities, or about what they truly want. Also, thoughts revolving around how they can’t find any good quality in them, that they aren’t unique and that’s why they can’t create anything. Or even thoughts about what they truly want in life is wrong and you have to conform to this other person’s opinion or to society. The crazy thing is that none of this is the truth, it’s just something that was unconsciously absorbed, and the animus will always seek these blind spots. That’s why the main work of a woman is to challenge these thoughts, understand that they don’t make any sense, and come up with her own values and beliefs. The relationship with the Eros principle has to be personal and individual, what matters to the woman has to be the most important thing, instead of giving in to collective rules and assumptions.However, if the problem of the animus is not faced:“If the problem is not faced, if woman does not meet adequately the demand for consciousness or intellectual activity, the animus becomes autonomous and negative, and works destructively on the individual herself and in her relations to other people. This fact can be explained as follows: if the possibility of spiritual functioning is not taken up by the conscious mind, the psychic energy intended for it falls into the unconscious, and there activates the archetype of the animus. Possessed of the energy that has flowed back into the unconscious, the animus figure becomes autonomous, so powerful, indeed, that it can overwhelm the conscious ego, and thus finally dominate the whole personality” (Emma Jung – The Animus and Anima, p. 7).This is a principle in Jungian Psychology, every time that we don’t consciously exert some faculty, it becomes unconscious and instead of functioning properly, it becomes destructive. Emma Jung says that when there’s an identification with the animus, the women either didn’t pay attention to her spiritual side or developed it in the wrong way. She points out that many women have this over-identification with their masculine side and externally it might seem that they have a positive animus, however, this always comes to the detriment of feminine values, and especially their relationships.“To busy ourselves simply in an intellectual or objectively masculine way seems insufficient, as can be seen in many women who have completed a course of study and practice a heretofore masculine, intellectual calling, but who, nonetheless, have never come to terms with the animus problem. Such a masculine training and way of life may well be achieved by identification with the animus, but then the feminine side is left out in the cold. What is really necessary is that feminine intellectuality, logos in the woman, should be so fitted into the nature and life of the woman that a harmonious cooperation between the feminine and masculine factors ensues and no part is condemned to a shadowy existence” (Emma Jung – The Animus and Anima, p. 13).“For when the feminine side is so overwhelmed and pushed into the background by the animus, there easily arise depressions, general dissatisfaction, and loss of interest in life. These are all intelligible symptoms pointing to the fact that one half of the personality is partly robbed of life by the encroachment of the animus” (Emma Jung – The Animus and Anima, p. 15).This animus identification has two main expressions, either the woman feels hopeless and powerless, or she adopts traditionally masculine traits in a very toxic manner, in both cases her relationships suffer. There needs to be a fine balance between the Eros and Logos principle, there isn’t a recipe about how a man or woman should be, this is an individual pursuit. But we always have to remember that the conscious mind tends to be unilateral, so an over-identification with each side will always be destructive. Furthermore, developing the animus isn’t about doing traditionally masculine things, it’s something much deeper. It’s about finding your own sense of meaning and direction in life. It’s about crafting your own cosmovision and feeling fulfilled. It’s about deeply knowing what you want, what’s valuable to you, and going after it. It doesn’t matter if you want to become an engineer or a dancer, what matters is if that’s an authentic expression of your personality. Nowadays, we see many women trying to get their power back, however, they end up adopting the worst facet possible of the masculine, and then they become toxic and destructive, not only to themselves but to everyone around them. Again, this is not developing the animus, it’s simply becoming possessed by it. There always needs to be a balance between Eros and Logos, and each person has to discover what this means for them. In the previous chapter, we explored how the animus and anima make a pair of opposites with the persona, so when we’re too identified with the persona, we’re also subliminally identified with the animus and anima. “One of the animus activities most difficult to see through lies in this field, namely, the building up of a wish-image of oneself. The animus is expert at sketching in and making plausible a picture that represents us as we would like to be seen, for example, as the “ideal lover,” the “appealing, helpless child,” the “selfless handmaiden,” the “extraordinarily original person”, “the one who is really born to something better,” and so on. This activity naturally lends the animus power over us until we voluntarily, or perforce, make up our minds to sacrifice the highly colored picture and see ourselves as we really are” (Emma Jung – The Animus and Anima, p. 19). It’s always important to challenge these labels and identities because they’re our worst enemies. We have to pay close attention to the stories that we have been telling ourselves because they rarely contain the whole truth. Opinions about how a woman should be and act are especially insidious because this prevents women from discovering their true individualities, there’s no spontaneity. Also, this animus identification generates an inflation and women put themselves on a high horse dictating how everyone should be and act, they believe they own the truth and act like a judgmental tyrant. That’s why Von Franz says that one way of escaping animus possession is by taking a humble attitude and dealing with your own shadow.Lastly, anytime that you feel hopeless, powerless, and such a victim, you know that the animus is operating and you must challenge these thoughts and assumptions. Because another thing a negative animus promotes is this constant pondering about the past, about all your mistakes, about how you should’ve done things differently, and how things could be in the present moment, a bunch of “what ifs”. This is not thinking, you’re just indulging in a fantasy instead of dealing with what’s right in front of you. Emma Jung says that the animus voice has mainly two ways of functioning, first it judges and criticizes absolutely everything a woman does, and second, it issues commands and prohibitions. Also, because the animus and Logos are impersonal, they tend to appear as a council of condemnatory judges, and less frequently as a single figure.How To Deal With The AnimAt this point, you might be asking yourself, “So how to deal with these intrusive thoughts, opinions, and assumptions?”. Well, since the animus is a complex, Barbara Hannah suggests that women have to personify the animus. This is actually a good idea to deal with any complex, because when we’re able to personalize it, we create a separation between us , the conscious Ego, and this part, and this allows us to have a more objective perspective. At the same time that these figures are a part of us, they’re also autonomous complexes with their own personalities and laws, and we have to get to know how they operate. So when you have a thought you have to ask yourself who inside you is thinking this and what is the part of yourself having these thoughts. This will help you detach from this automatism “One of the techniques that Jung recommends for getting acquainted with our animus is to keep a sharp lookout on our speech, in particular our thoughts, and to constantly question them as they pass through our minds: “Did I think that?” “Where did that thought come from?” “Who thought that?” This is a most disagreeable technique, and we always find good excuses to avoid it, such as never having the time, and so on. But if we can force ourselves to practice it and to write down the outcome – for we forget such thoughts almost before we think them – the results can be exceedingly instructive” (Barbara Hannah – The Animus, p.17).Women have to pay close attention to the stories they’re entertaining in their minds and question them. The first part is always to understand where a certain opinion comes from, for instance, if you have a fixed thought about how women should dress or the kind of work they can do. You can ask yourself where this comes from, a lot of the time you’ll discover that this is exactly how your mother or father viewed women, and you just absorbed it and never questioned it. Remember that in women, the mother complex serves as a basis for the persona and the father complex serves as a basis for the animus. But often, the negative animus of the mother is what shapes the sense of identity of the daughter, so pay special attention to that. A lot of this work will be focused on separating yourself from the parental figures, their values and beliefs, so as to create your own cosmovision. Obviously, not everything comes from the parents, so you have to question these thoughts and see if you can connect with any experiences you’ve had.You’ll also discover that many thoughts don’t have a clear origin, and make no sense at all and this happens a lot during my sessions, I’ll hear an opinion and reflect it back, and the person suddenly realizes how crazy it is to think such things. One example I can remember is about this woman who wanted to create something new, but every time she had an idea she would research and see if someone had already talked about it, and obviously, she would always find something. She had this fixed idea that in order for something to be considered creative it had to be so original that no one had thought about it before.Obviously this a crazy inhuman thought and this was preventing her from being creative. However, this woman was very artistic and she was a great writer and painter, but she never considered her creations original enough. That’s what the animus does, it makes you believe in these lies and prevents spontaneity and creativity. During the sessions, we challenged all of these opinions and she finally started to appreciate her own creations, furthermore, she understood that as long as she did it in her own way and added her own experience it would always be unique. Instead of operating with assumptions, she came up with her own beliefs around this. I already said that to deal with the animus you have to question these thoughts, but sometimes this can be a trap and you get lost. What’s important to understand is that these opinions prevent a woman from experiencing things as they are, she sees everything through these lenses, so what really matters when dealing with the animus, is to just experience reality as it is. For instance, if you want to relax and the animus voice keeps telling you how wrong this is, just tell him to shut up, and go enjoy yourself. If you’re feeling guilty because you need your time alone or because you’re doing something that is just for you, just tell him to be quiet, and go do your thing. Obviously, this advice is for someone who has a hard time doing that, because the animus can also be experienced as negative when he wants to push your forward but you’re resisting. Another example, many women feel guilty about pursuing a career or doing something that it’s just for them that doesn’t involve any relationships. When the Eros is overdeveloped it makes you lose your sense of identity in your relationships and you’re always dependent on them. It makes a woman extremely passive and afraid, and she never pursues her individuality. However, a positive animus helps a woman to have this sense of direction, be driven, and create a life for herself that isn’t dependent on others. However, if you resist acquiring this independence you’ll forever remain in an infantile position, and most likely be identified with the Puella Aeternus.The gift of the animus is to make a woman independent and uncover her true personality. But for it to happen, you have to devote time and learn how to consciously exert its function. It’s really important to dedicate time to craft your own perception of life, your sense of identity, and your relationships. The first step is obviously to observe your opinions and question them. But we also have dream interpretation, active imagination, creative endeavors, and of course, analysis. Barbara Hannah says that writing is especially important for women as the word is the primary vehicle of the Logos.When you write you have the chance to make these opinions conscious, at first, you should just allow them to come without any judgment. But after that is time to activate your critical mind and separate what makes sense and what doesn’t. It’s always important to insert your conscious perspective into these dialogues, so as to educate the animus. These inner figures also need to learn human values and limitations and you can find out more about this process on the active imagination chapter. Lastly, artistic expressions like music or dancing are the realm of the Eros and there the animus can’t touch you. So having an artistic outlet can be a great way of depotentiating the animus, and uncovering your authenticity. Finally, you have to dedicate time to craft your own cosmovision and develop your own sense of spirituality.

The Tablet of the Covenant is based upon the Babylonian epic of Atrahasis (Ziusudra in Sumerian). It is a tale of the early days of earth, when mankind was still young, and the gods were upon the earth. It is the tale of mankind's corruption and the subsequent cleansing of the world by the flood weapon of the gods. It is the story of a man, favored by the gods, who built a great ship to escape the floodwaters that doomed the earth. It is believed by many scholars to be the source of the biblical tale of Noah and his ark. The Tablet of the Covenant ('The Epic of Ziusudra') When the gods instead of man did the work, bore the loads, the gods' load was too great, the work too hard, the trouble too much, the great Anunnaki made the Igigi carry the workload sevenfold. An their father was King, their counselor warrior Enlil, their chamberlain was Ninurta, their canal-controller Enuggi. They took the box of lots, and cast the lots; the Gods made the division. An went up to the sky, and Enlil took the earth for his people. The bolt which bars the sea was assigned to far-sighted Enki. When An had gone up to the sky, and the gods of the Abzu had gone below, the Anunnaki of the sky made the Igigi bear the workload. The Gods had to dig out canals, had to clear channels, the lifelines of the land. The gods dug out the Tigris river bed and then dug out the Euphrates. In the deep they set up the Abzu of the land, and roofed it as the mountains. They were counting the years of loads; for 3600 years they bore the excess, hard work, night and day. They groaned and blamed each other, grumbled over the masses of excavated soil: 'Let us confront our Lord the chamberlain, and get him to relieve us of our hard work! Come, let us carry the Lord, the counselor of gods, the warrior, from his dwelling. Come, let us carry Enlil, the counselor of the gods, the warrior, from his dwelling.' Then Gibil made his voice heard and spoke to the gods his brothers, 'Come! Let us carry the counselor of the gods, the warrior, from his dwelling. Come! Let us carry Enlil, the counselor of the gods, the warrior, from his dwelling. Now, cry battle! Let us mix fight with battle!' The gods listened to his speech, set fire to their tools, put aside their spades for fire, their loads for the fire-god, they flared up. When they reached the gate of the warrior Enlil's dwelling, it was the night, the middle watch, the house was surrounded, the god had not realized. It was night, the middle watch, E-Kur was surrounded, Enlil had not realized. Yet Kalkal, Enlil's gate master was attentive, he had the gate closed, he held the lock and watched the gate. Kalkal roused Nusku. They both listened to the noise of the Igigi, then Nusku roused his master, made him get out of bed: 'My Lord, your house is surrounded, a rabble is running around your door! Enlil, your house is surrounded, the Igigi are running around your door!' Enlil had weapons brought to his dwelling. Enlil made his voice heard and spoke to the vizier Nusku, 'Nusku, bar your door, take up your weapons and stand firm in front of me.' Nusku barred his door, took up his weapons and stood in front of Enlil. Nusku made his voice heard and spoke to the warrior Enlil, 'O my Lord Enlil, your face is sallow as tamarisk! Why do you fear your own sons? Send for An to be brought down to you, have Enki fetched into your presence.' He sent for An to be brought down to him, Enki was fetched into his presence, An King of the Sky was present, Enki King of the Abzu attended. The Great Anunnaki were all present. Enlil got up and the case was put. Enlil made his voice heard and spoke to the Great Gods, 'Is it against me that they have risen? Shall I do battle with them? What did I see with my own eyes? A rabble was running around my door!' An made his voice heard and spoke to the warrior Enlil, 'Let Nusku go out and find out the word of the Igigi who have surrounded your door.' Enlil made his voice heard and spoke to the vizier Nusku, 'Nusku, open your door, take up your weapons and stand before me! In the assembly of all the gods, Bow, then stand and tell them, "Your Father An, your counselor warrior Enlil, your chamberlain Ninurta, and your canal-controller Enuggi have sent me to say, who is in charge of this rabble? Who is in charge of this fighting? Who declared war? Who ran to the door of Enlil?"' Nusku opened his door, took up his weapons, went before Enlil. In the assembly of all the gods he bowed, then stood and delivered Enlil's message. Then Gibil, leader of the Igigi revolt, made his voice heard and spoke to Nusku, 'Every single one of us gods declared war! We have put a stop to the digging. The load is too excessive, it is killing us! Our work is too hard, the trouble too much! So every single one of us gods has agreed to complain to Enlil.' Nusku took his weapons, went and returned to Enlil. There Nusku delivered the answer of the Igigi. Enlil listened to his speech. His tears flowed. Enlil spoke guardedly, addressed the Sky King An, 'Noble One, take a decree with you to the sky, show your strength while the Anunnaki are sitting before you, call up one rebellious god and let them cast him for destruction!' An made his voice heard and spoke to the gods his sons, 'What are we complaining of? Their work was indeed too hard, their trouble was too much. Every day the Earth resounded with their groans and cries. The warning signal was loud enough, we kept hearing the noise, but we ignored them! They have every right to revolt and complain to the house of Enlil!' Enlil was enraged with his father's answer. Then far-sighted Enki stepped in and offered a wise solution to the trouble. Enki made his voice heard and spoke to the gods his brothers, 'Why are we blaming them? Their work was too hard, their trouble was too much. Every day the Earth resounded with their groans and cries. The warning signal was loud enough, we kept hearing the noise, but we ignored them! There is an answer to this problem. Noble An, call forth Belet-ili the Womb-goddess into your presence. When Belet-ili the womb-goddess is present - Let her create offspring, let her create a mortal man so that he may bear the yoke, the work of Enlil, let man bear the load of the gods!' They called up the goddess, asked the midwife of the gods, wise Mami, 'You are the womb-goddess to be the creator of mankind! Create a mortal, that he may bear the yoke! Let him bear the yoke, the work of Enlil! Let man bear the load of the gods!' Nintu made her voice heard and spoke to the great gods, 'It is not proper for me to make him. That work is Enki's. It is not proper that I should make a mortal slave. I shall create a co-worker, a co-creator, but I will not make a slave! This is the work of Enki; he must make everything pure! If Enki gives me the clay, then I will do it.' Enki made his voice heard and spoke to the great gods, 'Wise Mami, mother of the gods your sons, your wisdom is noted and shall be made to pass. On the first, seventh and fifteenth of the month I shall make a purification by washing. Then one Anunnaki God should be chosen for sacrifice, and the gods can be purified by immersion. Nintu shall mix clay with his flesh and blood. Then a god and a man will be mixed together in clay. Let us hear the drumbeat of his heart forever after, let a ghost come into existence from the gods' flesh, let her proclaim it as his living sign, and let the ghost exist so as not to forget the slain god.' They all answered, 'Yes!' in the assembly, the great Anunnaki who assign the fates. On the first, seventh, and fifteenth of the month Enki made a purification by washing. Geshtu-e, a pure young god who had intelligence, they slaughtered in their assembly. Nintu mixed clay with his flesh and blood. They heard the drumbeat forever after. A ghost came into existence from the gods' flesh, and Nintu proclaimed it as his living sign. The ghost existed so none would forget the slain god. After she had mixed that clay, she called up the Anunnaki, the great gods. The Igigi, the great gods, spat spittle upon the clay. Mami made her voice heard and spoke to the great gods, 'I have carried out perfectly the work that you ordered of me. You have sacrificed a god together with his intelligence. I have relieved you of your hard work, I have imposed your load upon man, but only as a co-worker, not a slave. You would have bestowed noise and woe upon mankind, but I have undone the fetter and granted freedom!' They listened to this speech of hers, and were freed from anxiety, they fell down and kissed her feet: 'We used to call you Mami but now your name shall be Mistress of All Gods.' Far-sighted Enki and wise Mami went into the Room of Fate. The womb-goddesses were assembled. Enki trod the clay in her presence; Mami kept reciting the incantation, for Enki, staying in her presence, made her recite it. When she had finished her incantation, she pinched off fourteen pieces of clay, and set seven pieces on the right, seven on the left. Between them she put down a mud brick, she made use of a reed, split it open so that it was sharp, to cut the umbilical cords, she called up the wise and knowledgeable womb- goddesses, seven and seven. Seven created males, seven created females, for the womb-goddess is the creator of fate. Enki paired them two by two, he paired them two by two in her presence. Mami made these rules for people: 'In the house of a woman who is giving birth the mud brick shall be put down for seven days. Belet-ili, wise Mami shall be honored. The midwife shall rejoice in the house of the woman who gives birth and when the woman gives birth to the baby, the mother of the baby shall sever the cord herself. A man shall cleave unto a woman, a boy to a girl. A girl shall be ready by the sign of her bosoms, a young man, by the beard upon his cheek. In the gardens and the waysides they shall cleave unto each other, a wife and her husband shall choose each other.' The womb-goddesses were assembled and Nintu was present. They counted the months, called up the ninth month as the term of fates. When the ninth month came, she slipped in her staff and opened the womb. Her face was glad and joyful. She covered her head, performed the midwifery, put on her belt, said a blessing. She made a drawing in flour and put down a mud brick in the center of it: 'I myself have created it, my hands have made it. The midwife shall rejoice in the house of the priestess. Wherever a woman gives birth and the baby's mother severs herself, the mud brick shall be put down for nine days. Nintu the womb-goddess shall be honored. She shall call the womb-goddess "Mami". She shall honor the womb-goddess, shall lay down the linen cloth, and when the bed is laid out in their house, a wife and her husband shall choose each other. Inanna shall rejoice in the wife-husband relationship, in the father-in-law's house, celebration shall last for nine days, and they shall call Inanna "Ishtar" On the fifteenth day, the fixed time of fate, she shall call upon the womb-goddess and Inanna for blessings upon the child.' Enlil was very pleased with the work of far-sighted Enki and wise Mami. The new mortals grew quickly and soon they took hold of tools, made new picks and spades, made big the canals so as to feed the people and sustain the gods. 60 times 3600 years had passed, and the country became too wide, the people too numerous. In those days the Anunnaki sent the Watchers to the Earth, they took for themselves wives of the daughters of man, and begat children of great stature and renown. The holy sons and daughters of the Anunnaki Watchers became the leaders of the Land. In those later days, the country was as noisy as a bellowing bull. The God grew restless at their racket, Enlil had to listen to their noise. Enlil organized his assembly, he addressed the great gods, 'The noise of mankind has become too much, I am losing sleep over their racket. Give the order that the suruppu-disease shall break out, let Namtar put an end to their noise straight away! Let sickness: headache, suruppu, asakku, blow in to them like a storm!' The gods gave the order, and suruppu-disease was unleashed upon the people of the land. Namtar put an end to their noise straightaway. Sickness: headache, suruppu, asakku, blew into them like a storm. Now in those days, in the city of Shuruppak, there was one Ziusudra, a son of the Anunnaki, a leader of the people, whose ear was open to his god Enki. He would speak with his god and his god would speak with him. Ziusudra made his voice heard and spoke to his Lord, 'How long will the gods make us suffer? Will they make us suffer illness forever? Oh Lord, the people are grumbling! Sickness from the gods is consuming the country! Since you created us, you ought to cast off this unholy sickness.' Enki listened to his speech then made his voice heard, speaking to his servant Ziusudra, 'Call the elders, the senior men! Start an uprising in your own house, let heralds proclaim, let them make a loud noise in the land: Do not revere your gods, do not pray to your goddesses, but search out the door of Namtar. Bring a baked loaf into his presence. Make the flour offering reach him, may he be shamed by the presents and wipe away his punishing "hand."' Ziusudra took the order, gathered the elders of the city to his door. Ziusudra made his voice heard and spoke to the gathered elders, telling them all that Enki had told him. The elders listened to his speech; they built a temple for Namtar in the city. The Heralds proclaimed, they made a loud noise in the land. They did not revere their gods, they did not pray to their goddesses, but searched out the door of Namtar, brought a baked loaf into his presence. They made the flour offerings reach him, and he was shamed by the presents. Namtar wiped away his punishing 'hand'. The suruppu-disease left them, and sickness left the land. The gods went back to their regular offerings. In time the land became noisy again. Enlil once again organized his assembly, and addressed the gods his sons, 'You are not to inflict disease on them again, even though the people have not diminished - they are more than ever before! I have become restless at their noise, sleep cannot overtake me because of their racket! Cut off the food from the people, let vegetation be too scant for their stomachs! Let Ishkur on high make his rain scarce, let him block the below, and not raise flood- water from the springs! Let the field decrease its yield, Let Nissaba turn away her breast, let the dark fields become white, let the broad countryside breed alkali, let the earth clamp down her womb so that no vegetation sprouts, no grain grows. Let asakku be inflicted on the people, let the womb be too tight to let a baby out!' The Anunnaki listened to the decree of Enlil, they cut off food for the people and did all that was ordered of them. That first year the land produced no vegetation, the land produced no grain. The people sought in vain for food. When the second year arrived, they had depleted the city storehouses. When the third year arrived, the people's looks were changed by starvation. When the fourth year arrived, their upstanding bearing bowed, their well-set shoulders slouched, people went out in public hunched over with the pain of starvation. When the fifth year arrived, daughters would suspiciously eye their mothers. Mothers would not open their doors for their daughters. Daughters would watch the scales at the sale of their mothers into slavery. Mothers would watch the scales at the sale of their daughters. When the sixth year arrived, they served up daughters for their meals, they served up sons for food. When only a few households were left, their faces covered with scabs like malt, people stayed alive by taking the life of others. Now in those days, Ziusudra again approached Lord Enki, Ziusudra made his voice heard and spoke to his Lord, 'O Lord Enki, how long must the people suffer at the hands of the gods? How long will the Anunnaki punish the children of men and the children of gods? Why are we made to starve? Why has Ishkur ceased his rain, why has he ceased his fertile flood? The people are eating one another, none are safe. Happiness is no longer in the land.' Enki listened to his speech, and as before, Enki ordered Ziusudra to do just as he had done when Namtar sent sickness to the land. Ziusudra followed his orders, called the elders to his house, and gave them the orders of Enki. The people built a temple for Ishkur in the city, made offerings to him, and Ishkur was shamed by the presents. Ishkur withdrew his 'hand' from the land. He made mist form in the morning, and in the night he stole out and made dew drop, he opened his clouds and released the rains. He delivered to the field a harvest of its' produce nine fold. The drought left the land and the gods went back to their regular offerings. Now Enlil was furious with the Igigi, he convened the assembly and made his voice heard, speaking to the gods his sons, 'We, the great Anunna, all of us, agreed together on a plan. An and Ishkur were to guard above, I was to guard the earth below, where Enki went, he was to undo the chain and set us free, he was to release the produce for the people, he was to exercise control by holding the balance. But Enki has instead bestowed upon mankind, the secrets of our heavens, he is the one who has caused knowledge to increase, he has corrupted mankind. Enki is to blame for our woes.' Enlil made his voice heard and spoke to his vizier Nusku, 'Have Enki fetched for me! Have him brought into my presence straight away!' Enki was fetched for him. He was made to wait before the assembly. The gods grew anxious as he sat. In the gods' assembly worry gnawed at Enki, he grew anxious as he sat. They were furious with each other, Enki and Enlil. Finally the warrior Enlil addressed Enki, 'We, the great Anunna, all of us, agreed together on a plan. An and Ishkur were to guard above, I was to guard the earth below. Where you went, you were to undo the chain and set us free! You were sent to release produce for the people! You were to exercise control by holding the balance. But instead, you have given wisdom to the people, you gave them forbidden knowledge. Your creations have despoiled the earth. You agreed to a different plan, you betrayed the gods by teaching man to shame the gods, you caused that Ishkur should release his rains, that Namtar should stay the sickness, against the holy will of the gods. Therefore, since you imposed your loads upon man, you bestowed noise on mankind, you slaughtered a god together with his intelligence, you must now use your power to create a flood. As your punishment, it is indeed your power that shall be used against your people! You agreed to the wrong plan! I will have it reversed! Let us make far-sighted Enki swear an oath to this end, that his power shall inundate the earth and wipe away all life.' Enki made his voice heard and spoke to his brother gods, 'Why should you make me swear an oath? Why should I use my power against my people? The flood that you mention to me - What is it? I do not even know! Could I give birth to a flood? That is Enlil's kind of work! Let him choose destruction, let Enlil choose his champions. Let his envoys march ahead, let them pull loose the mooring poles, let Ninurta march, let him make the weirs overflow.' The assembly listened to his speech, but they did not listen to his plea. The gods gave a specific command. Enki was forced to swear the oath, and Enlil performed a bad deed to the people. Now Ziusudra sought his master day and night, but could find him nowhere. He spoke to him, but he would not answer, for Enki was sworn to silence. Instead, Enki came to Ziusudra in a dream and instructed him to go to the temple, put his ear to the wall and listen for his god.

byzantine icons dream of Andrey Rublyov frozen in pigment

There's obviously a difference from situation to situation, and a humongous difference between theory and practice. However, what I will say to adress your points is, yes. What I've seen in my life is that it's generally best to do just 1 practical action. All the thinking, planning, feeling, strategizing etc, honestly, for manifesting something in this physical world, is not that needed. People who actually create the life they want to live, every single one of them, take massive practical action on a daily basis, even without a long term plan, even when conditions are not ideal, even without any strategy. However, I've met tons of people who are super smart, intellectual, have all the right plans and strategy, but they have nothing to show for it, as they don't take practical action on it. So yes, as a general advice, I would say for 99.9% of people, if you want to help them live and manifest their dream life, it's actually a better piece of advice to "just go for it", than to plan, wait, get conditions perfect, prepare, plan, strategize. Just get going, 1 step at a time, that's what's king in this physical, material world. Just take the first practical step. Just DO the thing. Then the rest will naturally follow. Whereas thinking and planning endlessly doesn't work. It's actually a trap for most, especially white, middle class people. Try to interview all the strongest, richest, happiest, most materially succesful or most powerful spiritual people you know, I'm sure you'll find all who make it, who rise above the inertia of average, they would all agree, that action is king, even without a plan. The few people (remaining 0.1%) who I would advise to just use their head a bit before starting, is people from poor or lower class backgrounds, or most non-white people. Many of these are master-doers, but mostly get themselves into trouble, whereas white middle class people are experts at thinking and analyzing, but always remain wage-slaves to "the man" and argue that "I could if I wanted to", yet never do it. This is also where we find the most incels. And I take that the vast majority of people on this forum are white, middle class people. Hence the tailored advice "just do!". Ofc you can let me know your concrete situation and I could tailor advice to you personally, whether you should plan or do

Hi Lala . I'm 'all for' three in one ! " Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no tracelike thoughts inside a dream.Heed the path that led me to that place with yellow desert stream.My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again.Sure as the dust that blows high in June, when movin' through Kashmir. "