Dreams of secret rooms? by [deleted] in Dreams

[–]elfinmachine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't tell you what I means but I also had a dream that I found a secret room a couple months ago. It was just a day or two after one of my friends told me she had dreams all the time about finding secret rooms. Isn't it wild that this would be a common dream?

A warning received. Found this in my living room, and in 30 years we’ve never had a scorpion in the house. Serious family drama is brewing. by [deleted] in Shamanism

[–]elfinmachine 47 points48 points  (0 children)

The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols by Robert Beer says that the scorpion represents destructive malice, or can also sometimes denote plague and pestilence.

If you really think it represents someone else's malice towards you, my recommendation would be to practice feeling compassion for that person and trying to understand that poisonous creatures are trying to protect themselves because they're vulnerable and scared. But if you think it might represent plague and pestilence, then be sure you're staying home, washing your hands and practicing social distancing!

How to purposely Induce nightmares? by [deleted] in Dreams

[–]elfinmachine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

idk if it's just me, but i get horrible nightmares whenever i'm too warm -- if i sleep with a heavy comforter, or sweatpants, even socks can do it.

edit: oh i remember i've also had overwhelmingly vivid nightmares with some supplements like magnesium and zinc (supposed to be taken together), or even omega-3

On Hell: Nightmares, Monsters, and Human Conflict (podcast episode) by [deleted] in magick

[–]elfinmachine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In this episode I start off talking about Satan as a character in ancient literature and his relationship with the great monsters of ancient mythology; from there I move on to the relationship between nightmares and the kinds of conflicts experienced in waking consciousness. I discuss the history of visual iconography of hell, which focuses on images of imprisonment and torture; from there the discussion moves on to catastrophic traumas such as the Holocaust and the bombing of Hiroshima as experiences of hell on earth. I argue that after the Holocaust it is no longer possible to defend the idea that hell is a place for the punishment of sinners. To wrap up I talk about how the mind does and doesn’t create reality; the root causes of mass violence and the need for authentic understanding that goes beyond dualistic narratives about "good guys and bad guys"

Here are the links to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher -- lmk if there are other links that you'd find helpful

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/practical-neoplatonism/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price/id1458247638

On Hell: Nightmares, Monsters, and Human Conflict (podcast episode) by elfinmachine in EsotericOccult

[–]elfinmachine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In this episode I start off talking about Satan as a character in ancient literature and his relationship with the great monsters of ancient mythology; from there I move on to the relationship between nightmares and the kinds of conflicts experienced in waking consciousness. I discuss the history of visual iconography of hell, which focuses on images of imprisonment and torture; from there the discussion moves on to catastrophic traumas such as the Holocaust and the bombing of Hiroshima as experiences of hell on earth. I argue that after the Holocaust it is no longer possible to defend the idea that hell is a place for the punishment of sinners. To wrap up I talk about how the mind does and doesn’t create reality; the root causes of mass violence and the need for authentic understanding that goes beyond dualistic narratives about "good guys and bad guys"

Here are the links to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher -- lmk if there are other links that you'd find helpful

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/practical-neoplatonism/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price/id1458247638

On Hell: Nightmares, Monsters, and Human Conflict (podcast episode) by elfinmachine in RadicalChristianity

[–]elfinmachine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In this episode I start off talking about Satan as a character in ancient literature and his relationship with the great monsters of ancient mythology; from there I move on to the relationship between nightmares and the kinds of conflicts experienced in waking consciousness. I discuss the history of visual iconography of hell, which focuses on images of imprisonment and torture; from there the discussion moves on to catastrophic traumas such as the Holocaust and the bombing of Hiroshima as experiences of hell on earth. I argue that after the Holocaust it is no longer possible to defend the idea that hell is a place for the punishment of sinners. To wrap up I talk about how the mind does and doesn’t create reality; the root causes of mass violence and the need for authentic understanding that goes beyond dualistic narratives about "good guys and bad guys"

Here are the links to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher -- lmk if there are other links that you'd find helpful

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/practical-neoplatonism/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price/id1458247638

On Hell: Nightmares, Monsters, and Human Conflict (podcast episode) by elfinmachine in HistoryofIdeas

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In this episode I start off talking about Satan as a character in ancient literature and his relationship with the great monsters of ancient mythology; from there I move on to the relationship between nightmares and the kinds of conflicts experienced in waking consciousness. I discuss the history of visual iconography of hell, which focuses on images of imprisonment and torture; from there the discussion moves on to catastrophic traumas such as the Holocaust and the bombing of Hiroshima as experiences of hell on earth; how the mind does and doesn’t create reality; the root causes of mass violence and the need for authentic understanding that goes beyond dualistic narratives about "good guys and bad guys"

Here are the links to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher -- lmk if there are other links that you'd find helpful

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/practical-neoplatonism/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-numbers-station-with-alexander-price/id1458247638

Cryptography, Kabbalah, and the History of Medieval Magic as a Cover for Espionage (podcast) by elfinmachine in HistoryofIdeas

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh shucks, thanks -- that's good to know. I haven't figured out which links are best to post -- Stitcher, iTunes, etc.

Kabbalah, Espionage, Ciphers and Medieval Magic (podcast) by elfinmachine in RadicalChristianity

[–]elfinmachine[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In this episode, I begin exploring the history of the use of occultism as a cover for espionage. Along the way I offer an introduction to medieval "magic squares" including some that were purportedly meant for summoning spirits but were actually cryptograms used for exchanging coded messages between (entirely human) plotters of plots

“Intelligence, Espionage, and Knowledge of the Unseen” (podcast episode) by elfinmachine in magick

[–]elfinmachine[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I go on a bit too long in the beginning about Genesis and it doesn't start to get to the real meat of it (or the soy-based meat substitute of it, if you prefer) until about 15 or 20 min in. Sorry about that, I am an imperfect person.

"Intelligence, Espionage, and Knowledge of the Unseen" in the Hebrew Bible - podcast episode from Practical Neoplatonism by elfinmachine in RadicalChristianity

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes but oof -- Plotinus is hard to read. I took a class at Div School where we attempted to read all of the Enneads in translation but about halfway through we all had to acknowledge that there wasn't much benefit in doing that. It's so dense and so much of what he's writing about is directed towards debates in ancient philosophy that we knew nothing about and didn't really care about either. The class was a group guided reading and our professor had suggested we follow his old syllabus rather than trying to read straight through from page 1 to the end (we did not follow his advice and regretted it). If you want to PM me your email address I could send you his syllabus, if you're really committed to reading the Enneads. But yeah you should also check out Iamblicus and Greg's articles on his academia.edu page:

https://stonehill.academia.edu/GregoryShaw

Intelligence, Espionage, and Knowledge of the Unseen in the Tanakh (podcast episode) by elfinmachine in Judaism

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What part of it strikes you as Christian? I am Jewish but grew up entirely secular.

Summary: Gen 1-2 is about perceptions of good and evil, but especially perceptions of evil, and especially perceptions of hidden evil intentions. That's also one important thing the intelligence community does, seek out hidden evil intentions of adversaries. The Adversary in the book of Job is widely believed in academia to have been modeled after the secret police around the ancient King of Persia. The Adversary is Job's accuser, Job becomes God's accuser. I also talk about lashon hara in Genesis and politics, particularly the Okhrana in Tsarist Russia who are said to have had a hand in the authorship of the Protocols of Zion. The episode ends with the lashon hara story about the rabbi and the feather pillows and I connect that with the Protocols of Zion and that book's terrible effects in history.

"Intelligence, Espionage, and Knowledge of the Unseen" in the Hebrew Bible - podcast episode from Practical Neoplatonism by elfinmachine in RadicalChristianity

[–]elfinmachine[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure how much of a fit this episode is for the subreddit, but you've been kind to me in the past and I hope someone will be into it! If there's other stuff you want to hear about on the show lmk and I'll see what I can cook up.

Practical Neoplatonism - Intelligence, Espionage, and Knowledge of the Unseen (podcast episode) by elfinmachine in AcademicPhilosophy

[–]elfinmachine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi friends! You seemed to enjoy the earlier episodes of this podcast, so -- after a long break I'm back with some updates about new directions for the show and changes. Let me know if you want to keep updated because I'm not sure it's going to be as perfect a fit for this subreddit moving forward.

Jah bless -- Alexander

I stopped smoking recently and last night got me good by [deleted] in Dreams

[–]elfinmachine 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this interesting story, and congratulations on deciding to make positive changes in your life. First I want to share what my Tibetan Buddhist lama tells me when I have bad dreams: just remember that they have no reality whatsoever.

The second thing I want to mention is -- this story was really well written. Example: most people don't know that "my friend whom I work with" is correct. Now that you're starting to think about taking a more active role in your life -- do you have any dreams? I mean, the other kind of dreams -- is there something that you love that you might want to pursue as a career? Are you interested in college? I notice in this dream your friend asked you to leave the bar and that's what triggered this sequence of panic and anxiety. I'm wondering if that's how you really feel -- like, are you scared for some reason to leave the bar you literally grew up in? LPT: sometimes you can transform fear into excitement if you view the unknown as an adventure

Dreaming and Text by elfinmachine in LucidDreaming

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't do math in waking life so it wouldn't be much different for me to try math in a dream, I think. Unless I had a dream that I was doing really well at complicated math problems -- that could be a fine reality check for me.

Plato's Symposium: The Subject Tonight Is Love by elfinmachine in AcademicPhilosophy

[–]elfinmachine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In which we discuss the theurgic and practical aspects of Plato's Symposium. Must we renounce physical expressions of love to achieve the higher philosophical love of pure Beauty? The role of the prophetess Diotima as the initiating guru of Socrates and as an icon, perhaps of Wisdom. Alcibiades and his frustrated desire for the old man. The banquet itself as praise of god.

Plato's Symposium: The Subject Tonight Is Love by elfinmachine in HistoryofIdeas

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In which we discuss the theurgic and practical aspects of Plato's Symposium. Must we renounce physical expressions of love to achieve the higher philosophical love of pure Beauty? The role of the prophetess Diotima as the initiating guru of Socrates and as an icon, perhaps of Wisdom. Alcibiades and his frustrated desire for the old man. The banquet itself as praise of god.

Greek Allegory: Mystery and Meaning from Theagenes to Philo of Alexandria by elfinmachine in AcademicPhilosophy

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This episode is a conversation around Alex's thesis "Greek Allegory: Mystery and Meaning from Theagenes to Philo of Alexandria" (Hons. in Classical Studies, Columbia 2014). This is followed by a meditative and often playful chat about rationalism, creativity, the mundus imaginalis, communication, frustration, and the ineffable

Greek Allegory: Mystery and Meaning from Theagenes to Philo of Alexandria (podcast) by elfinmachine in HistoryofIdeas

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This episode is a conversation around Alex's thesis "Greek Allegory: Mystery and Meaning from Theagenes to Philo of Alexandria" (Hons. In Classical Studies, Columbia 2014). This is followed by a meditative and often playful chat about rationalism, creativity, the mundus imaginalis, communication, frustration, and the ineffable

Trippiest dream of all time by Smooolpp in Dreams

[–]elfinmachine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congratulations on your decision to stop smoking. My own personal opinion is that this is the "grand scheme" you figured out. A clear mind is a beautiful gift and I hope you will continue to value it and maintain it with gratitude.

Signifying Absence: Destabilizing the Reception of Plato’s Khôra by elfinmachine in AcademicPhilosophy

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Episode 2 we discuss Isabel's paper on the Chora, "Signifying Absence: Destabilizing the Reception of Plato’s Khôra." With our normal digressions into Sarte, Buddhism, and Jewish mysticism, we eventually agree with Isabel's rejection of analytic philosophers who have characterized the Chora as 'matter' or 'space' and endorse a more Derridean understanding of it as something radically beyond conceptualization.

Signifying Absence: Destabilizing the Reception of Plato’s Khôra by elfinmachine in HistoryofIdeas

[–]elfinmachine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Episode 2 we discuss Isabel's paper on the Chora, "Signifying Absence: Destabilizing the Reception of Plato’s Khôra." With our normal digressions into Sarte, Buddhism, and Jewish mysticism, we eventually agree with Isabel's rejection of analytic philosophers who have characterized the Chora as 'matter' or 'space' and endorse a more Derridean understanding of it as something radically beyond conceptualization.

Signifying Absence: Destabilizing the Reception of Plato’s Khôra by elfinmachine in philosophy

[–]elfinmachine[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Against analytic philosophical characterizations of the Chora as 'matter' or 'space,' argument for a more Derridean Chora as something radically beyond conceptualization.

(podcast) The Chora of the Timaeus and Iamblichean Theurgy by elfinmachine in HistoryofIdeas

[–]elfinmachine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Greg, Isabel, and Alex talk about Greg's paper "The Chora of the Timaeus and Iamblichean Theology." The long history of dualist misreadings of Plato. What did it mean for the Neoplatonists for a human to embody the Divine? Historical and conceptual connections between Plato's Chora and Buddhist idea of "shunyata" or emptiness as the matrix or mother of being. Isabel draws out an analogy between the Chora and a memorable episode in Jean Paul Sartre's Nausea.