From the Big Bang to the end of the universe's possible future, our lives are very short. The fact that humanity's role in history is so small in comparison to the big picture reminds us of our temporary role.

Cosmic Scale Perspective

Carl Sagan's thought that Earth is just a "mote of dust" shows how small we are and makes us think about our place in the big picture of the world.

The Pale Blue Dot Reflection

Even though our lives are important to us, they are short and will be forgotten soon. Realizing this can help us deal with worry better and keep our attention on what's important.

The Temporality of Life

Even though our daily lives are busy, realizing how small we are in the grand scheme of things can help us enjoy the moment, love, and do things that matter.

Enjoy the Present Moment

Even though we are gone, the universe will keep going or change, not caring about our presence. This can help us make smart choices about what we want to be consumed by while we are still here.Our short lives give us a one-of-a-kind chance to learn, explore, and make a difference, even if our effects are temporary.

The Universe's Continuation

Discover our tiny yet meaningful place in the vast universe and cherish every moment.

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Science Fiction

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Content that makes you curious, inspired, and feel good. 

Wonder is the feeling of curiosity and/or appreciation inspired by something that is beautiful or unfamiliar.  At Pursuit of Wonder, we produce content with the goal of creating that feeling. 

We cover a wide range of topics related to philosophy, science, literature, emotional and social well-being, and more using a variety of formats like video essays, short stories, guided experiences, and much more. 

For inquiries, email at: pursuit.wonder.media@gmail.com

Pursuit of Wonder

This One Idea Will Change How You Think About Your Entire Life

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God"

"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"

"To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace"

"God's grace is a rainbow against even the darkest sky"

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began"

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

The Word

Nella maggior parte gli uomini, anche i malvagi, sono di un animo molto più ingenuo e più semplice di quanto in generale si creda. E così del resto siamo anche noi. - Cap. 1. Libro primo.

Chi mente a se stesso e presta ascolto alle proprie menzogne, arriva al punto di non distinguere più la verità, né in se stesso, né intorno a sé. - Cap. 2. Libro secondo.

Se il pentimento non si esaurirà in te, Dio ti perdonerà. Perché non esiste e non può esistere peccato su questa terra che il Signore non perdoni a chi si pente sinceramente. - Cap. 3. Libro secondo.

Se io, che sono un peccatore come te, mi sono commosso e ho avuto pietà di te, tanto più ne avrà Dio. - Cap. 3. Libro secondo.

Conoscerai un grande dolore e nel dolore sarai felice. Eccoti il mio insegnamento: nel dolore cerca la felicità. - Cap. 7. Libro secondo.

Alëša "gli aveva trapassato il cuore" giacché "viveva, vedeva tutto e non condannava nulla". - Cap. 1. Libro terzo.

È il diavolo a lottare con Dio, e il loro campo di battaglia è il cuore degli uomini. - Cap.3. Libro terzo.

Dio conosce il mio cuore e vede tutta la mia disperazione. Vede tutto. È mai possibile che permetta che si compia un simile orrore? - Cap. 5. Libro terzo.

È mai possibile che ogni uomo, guardando gli altri, abbia il diritto di decidere chi di loro è degno di vivere e chi non lo è? - Cap. 9. Libro terzo.

Ogni pietra su di loro è come se testimoniasse di un passato così intenso, di una dedizione così appassionata alla propria impresa, alla propria fede, alla propria battaglia e al proprio sapere che io, lo so già fin da ora, mi getterò in ginocchio e bacerò quelle pietre, piangendo. - Cap. 3. Libro quinto.

È appunto chi ti sta vicino che, secondo me, è impossibile amare; chi è lontano forse sì. Per amare un uomo occorre che questi si celi alla nostra vista: non appena mostra il suo viso l'amore svanisce. - Cap. 4. Libro quinto.

[...] una belva non potrebbe mai essere crudele quanto un uomo, così artisticamente e raffinatamente crudele. Una tigre morde, sbrana e non sa fare nient'altro. Non le verrebbe mai in mente di inchiodare gli uomini per gli orecchi per tutta una notte, neppure se fosse in grado di farlo. - Cap 4. Libro quinto.

Sappi, novizio, che le sciocchezze sono più che necessarie sulla Terra. Sulle sciocchezze è basato il mondo e, forse senza di esse, nel mondo, non sarebbe mai accaduto nulla. - Cap. 4. Libro quinto.

Voglio soffrire. Accetterò la sofferenza e comincerò a vivere. - Cap. 2. Libro sesto.

Padri e maestri, mi chiedo: "Che cos'è l'inferno?". Ed è così che lo definisco: "La sofferenza di non poter più amare". - Cap. 3. Libro sesto.

Le mia raccolta di citazioni preferite tratte dal libro "I Fratelli Karamazov". My collection of favorite quotes from the book "The Brothers Karamazov".

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's crowning achievement, is a tale of patricide and family rivalry that embodies the moral and spiritual dissolution of an entire society (Russia in the 1870s). It created a national furor comparable only to the excitement stirred by the publication, in 1866, of Crime and Punishment. To Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov captured the quintessence of Russian character in all its exaltation, compassion, and profligacy. Significantly, the book was on Tolstoy's bedside table when he died. Readers in every language have since accepted Dostoevsky's own evaluation of this work and have gone further by proclaiming it one of the few great novels of all ages and countries.   "The Brothers Karamazov stands as the culmination of Dostoevsky's art—his last, longest, richest, and most capacious book," said The Washington Post Book World. "Nothing is outside Dostoevsky's province," observed Virginia Woolf. "Out of Shakespeare there is no more exciting reading."

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

books

Books

Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Brothers Karamazov

Socrates, the philosopher, meets Phaedrus, a young rhetoric student, outside the city walls of Athens. Socrates wants to hear Lysias's speech for himself after hearing that Phaedrus had just come from listening to the famous orator Lysias.He convinces Phaedrus, who has Lysias's speech with him, to read it out loud.

Meeting Between Socrates and Phaedrus

In his speech, Lysias argues to a young man that it is better to be physically involved with someone who isn’t in love with you than with someone who is. Lysias says that one main reason for this is that people in love aren’t thinking straight; they act based on a forced craziness instead of free will. He also tries to convince his audience that friendship, not love, is better in the long run when it comes to social benefits.

Lysias’s Argument Against Love

When Phaedrus sees that Socrates doesn’t like Lysias’s speech, he convinces his friend to give his own speech instead. Although reluctant, Socrates agrees and delivers a speech that is a parody of Lysias’s.Like Lysias, Socrates speaks as a man who wants to persuade a younger man to sleep with him, even though they’re not in a romantic relationship. He argues that love is a crazy state that occurs when desire takes over, causing people to lose their sense of right and wrong.

Socrates’s Parody of Lysias’s Speech

This craziness makes people withhold good things from their loved ones out of jealousy, and they even avoid philosophy, which is the source of all happiness. Eventually, love runs out of fuel and dies, leaving both men worse off than they were before.

As Socrates finishes his speech and is about to leave, he feels a divine push, sensing that his words have offended the gods by insulting Eros, the god of love. Socrates then gives a new speech.He takes a completely different stance, arguing that it’s wrong to reject a lover's advances just because they’re crazy. He asserts that divine madness is a gift from the gods and that love is the best kind of madness.

Socrates’s Defense of Love

Types Of Madness By Socrates1. Prophetic Madness: Inspired by Apollo, this type of madness is associated with prophecy and divination. It is the ability to foresee the future and is seen in oracles and seers.2. Ritual Madness: Associated with Dionysus, this madness relates to religious rites and rituals, particularly those involving purification and the mystic frenzy of the Bacchic cults. It is seen as a form of spiritual release and liberation from the ordinary constraints of life.

3. Poetic Madness: Linked to the Muses, this madness inspires poets, artists, and musicians, enabling them to create works of art that transcend ordinary human experience.4. Erotic Madness: Inspired by Aphrodite and Eros, this type of madness is related to love and the intense passion that drives individuals to form deep and meaningful connections. Socrates considers this the highest form of madness, as it leads the soul closer to the divine through the pursuit of true beauty and love.

but in fact the best things we have come from madness, when it is given as a gift of the god.

Socrates gives a detailed description of the soul to support this idea. He uses a metaphor, comparing the soul to a chariot with wings pulled by two horses—one noble and the other driven by base desires. Some souls can control their horses and reach the top of heaven (The Noble), where they can see eternal truths, but most are pulled back down to earth by the lowly horse (unruly). People (The novels) who remember glimpsing eternal beauty in a past life are always looking up (Eternal Truths), which makes ordinary people (lowly) think they’re crazy.

The Metaphor of the Chariot

The Role of Philosophy in LoveSocrates explains that a soul interested in philosophy will work hard to control its base horse by being self-disciplined and remembering the beauty of heaven. After much practice, the lowly horse is finally tamed, and the lover has a passionate relationship with his beloved that focuses on the beauty of thought rather than physical desire. A soul can only be directed toward heaven in this type of relationship, making it better to be with someone who loves you than someone who doesn’t.

Phaedrus agrees that Socrates’ second speech is better than Lysias’s, but he can’t quite explain why. This leads Socrates and Phaedrus to discuss rhetoric and the difference between good and bad speech.Socrates begins by saying that speech should concern truth, not just things that seem convincing. He then argues that if rhetoric is the leading of the soul by means of speech, then a speaker needs to know what the soul is.

Socrates and Phaedrus on Rhetoric

They examine Lysias’s speech together, noting how he failed to properly identify his subject from the start. Socrates stresses that clear meaning is crucial and ties it to the philosophical method of dialectic, which involves asking questions one at a time to gain more understanding.

Critique of Lysias’s Speech

He carefully divided the concept of madness in his own speech to help his audience grasp his point that love is a good form of madness. Additionally, he argues that the soul is central to the practice of rhetoric.Socrates asserts that someone who has only learned rhetorical techniques cannot claim to be an expert in the art of rhetoric unless they know how to apply rhetorical remedies to specific souls in specific situations.

Socrates’s Rhetorical Method

Finally, Socrates and Phaedrus discuss the appropriateness of writing speeches. Socrates views writing as a relatively new and mixed tool because it makes wisdom appear more impressive while actually diminishing its reality. This is because writing is silent and lifeless; it can’t answer questions or face challenges. Thus, Philosophical dialectic is superior because it is tailored to each soul and leads that soul to knowledge through interaction.

Writing vs. Philosophical Dialectic

&quot;A superb translation that captures the rhetorical brilliance of the Greek. . . . The translation is faithful in the very best sense: it reflects both the meaning and the beauty of the Greek text. . . . The footnotes are always helpful, never obtrusive. A one-page outline is useful since there are no editorial additions to mark major divisions in the dialogue. An appendix containing fragments of early Greek love poetry helps the reader appreciate the rich, and perhaps elusive, meaning of eros. . . . The entire Introduction is crisply written, and the authors' erudition shines throughout, without a trace of pedantry. . . . this is an excellent book that deservedly should find wide circulation for many years to come.&quot; --Tim Mahoney, University of Texas at Arlington

history

History

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Plato

Alexander Nehamas

Paul Woodruff

Phaedrus

Will Durant views history as an invaluable laboratory for understanding human nature. Just as scientists conduct experiments to study natural phenomena, historians can analyze past events to discern patterns, causes, and effects of human behavior.Durant emphasizes that history provides a vast dataset of human experiences, allowing us to:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">identify recurring trends</li><li class="ql-align-justify">test theories</li><li class="ql-align-justify">develop a deeper understanding of our species.</li></ul>History offers a unique opportunity to study humanity on a massive scale, providing a rich tapestry of data from which to draw conclusions about the human condition.

History as the Only Human Laboratory

Durant approached history with a desire to find underlying patterns & principles, much like scientists seek laws in nature.Unlike the precise laws of physics, the "laws" of history are more like tendencies or probabilities. Human behavior, influenced by a complex interplay of factors, is less deterministic than the physical world.Durant's "laws" are often generalisations based on extensive historical observation. They offer insights into human nature, societal dynamics, and the cyclical nature of history.

Laws of History vs. Scientific Laws

Humans, like all living beings, are driven by a fundamental instinct for survival and reproduction. This often manifests in competition for resources, territory, and power. On various levels: individuals, groups, nations.Cooperation arose to facilitate better competition: "Two stand a better chance against one."ex: The Industrial Revolution sparked intense competition among nations for economic dominance, leading to imperialism and colonization.

History Law 1: Life is Competition

The concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals or groups often leads to abuse of that power. This can take many forms, including corruption, tyranny, and oppression. The desire to maintain or increase power can override ethical considerations. Either way, power is a constant in humans existence. ex: The Roman Republic was set-up as a mechanism to guard against the absolute power of a king. But they still ended up with an emperor at the helm of an empire.

History Law 2: Power Corrupts

The distribution of wealth within societies tends to become increasingly unequal over time. Societies usually start with unregulated economic freedom, leading to the economic development. As time goes by the inequalities lead to restrictions and regulations, slowing down grow. Ongoing inequalities usually lead to revolutions and bloodshed.ex: France became the powerhouse of Europe during the the century of Ludovic XIV. But since there were very few haves and many hav-nots, his grandson, Ludovic XVI, lost his head during the French Revolution.

History Law 3: Economic Inequality is a Persistent Challenge

Civilizations follow a cyclical pattern of growth, peak, decline, and eventual collapse. Factors contributing to decline include economic problems, social unrest, external threats, and loss of cultural vitality.However, the remnants of collapsed civilizations often contribute to the rise of new ones.ex: Egypt was amongst the first societies to grow into an empire. They survived the Bronze Age collapse, changed many rulers over thousands of years. But ultimately they fell when Cleopatra, their Greek queen, died and Egypt became a Roman province.

History Law 4: All Civilizations Rise and Fall

Religion has been a powerful force shaping human societies, cultures, and conflicts. It has served as a unifying element, as it allowed for large groups of people to come together in worshiping gods. But also a divisive factor, influencing laws, ethics, and social structures designed to separate people into groups.ex: Early Christians were blamed for all the bad events (like the burning of Rome) and were frequently discriminated against. 300 years later the Empire became Christian. And 800 years from that the Christian priests were burning infidels.

History Law 5: Religion is a Catalyst for Unity & Conflict

Education is crucial for societal progress, innovation, and the development of critical thinking. Investing in education can lead to economic growth, improved health, and reduced poverty. Conversely, a lack of education can hinder a society's potential.ex: The Califate was the knowledge center of the world before the turn of the millennia. Islamic scholars advanced math, philosophy and art. It allowed them to rule over vast lands. However the roles reversed as the West became more interested in knowledge and Islam banned most of it outside of the Coran.

History Law 6: Knowledge is Power

History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. Learn from the past, shape a better future.

Lessons of History

Will and Ariel Durant, giant historians, condense the lessons of thousand of years of history into a few lessons that define human nature.

A concise survey of the culture and civilization of mankind, The Lessons of History is the result of a lifetime of research from Pulitzer Prize–winning historians Will and Ariel Durant. With their accessible compendium of philosophy and social progress, the Durants take us on a journey through history, exploring the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. Juxtaposing the great lives, ideas, and accomplishments with cycles of war and conquest, the Durants reveal the towering themes of history and give meaning to our own.

William James Durant was a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization, written in collaboration with his wife Ariel and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for his book, The Story of Philosophy, written in 1926, which was considered "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy."They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1967 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

Will Durant

Ariel Durant is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Ariel Durant has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Ariel Durant's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Ariel Durant

The Lessons of History

He had thought more than other men, and in matters of the intellect he had that calm objectivity, that certainty of thought and knowledge, such as only really intellectual men have, who have no axe to grind, who never wish to shine, or to talk others down, or to appear always in the right.

In course of time I was more and more conscious, too, that this affliction was not due to any defects of nature, but rather to a profusion of gifts and powers which had not attained to harmony. […] I saw at the same time that the root of his pessimism was not world-contempt but self-contempt; for however mercilessly he might annihilate institutions and persons in his talk he never spared himself. It was always at himself first and foremost that he aimed the shaft, himself first and foremost whom he hated and despised.

He was brought up by devoted but severe and very pious parents and teachers in accordance with that doctrine that makes the breaking of the will the corner-stone of education and upbringing. But in this case the attempt to destroy the personality and to break the will did not succeed. He was much too strong and hardy, too proud and spirited. Instead of destroying his personality they succeeded only in teaching him to hate himself.

Soon I never thought of him by any other name; nor could I today hit on a better description of him. A wolf of the Steppes that had lost its way and strayed into the towns and the life of the herd, a more striking image could not be found for his shy loneliness, his savagery, his restlessness, his homesickness, his homelessness.

Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and ugliness; accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap. […] Now there are times when a whole generation is caught in this way between two ages, two modes of life, with the consequence that it loses all power to understand itself and has no standard, no security, no simple acquiescence.

There is much to be said for contentment and painlessness, for these bearable and submissive days, on which neither pain nor pleasure is audible, but pass by whispering and on tip-toe. But the worst of it is that it is just this contentment that I cannot endure. […] For what I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity.

There I took refuge. True, it was only a refuge […] Here, too, I found neither home nor company, nothing but a seat from which to view a stage where strange people played strange parts.

How foolish to wear oneself out in vain longing for warmth! Solitude is independence. It had been my wish and with the years I had attained it. It was cold. Oh, cold enough! But it was also still, wonderfully still and vast like the cold stillness of space in which the stars revolve.

There was once a man, called the Steppenwolf. He went on two legs, wore clothes and was a human being, but nevertheless he was in reality a wolf of the Steppes. He had learned a good deal of all that people of a good intelligence can, and was a fairly clever fellow. What he had not learned, however, was this: to find contentment in himself and his own life.

Clever men might argue the point whether he truly was a wolf […] or whether, on the other hand, this belief that he was a wolf was no more than a fancy or a disease of his. It might, for example, be possible that in his childhood he was a little wild and disobedient and disorderly, and that those who brought him up had declared a war of extinction against the beast in him; and precisely this had given him the idea and the belief that he was in fact actually a beast with only a thin covering of the human.

On [whether he truly was a wolf or merely fancied he was a wolf] one could speak at length and entertainingly, and indeed write a book about it. The Steppenwolf, however, would be none the better for it, since for him it was all one whether the wolf had been bewitched or beaten into him, or whether it was merely an idea of his own. What others chose to think about it or what he chose to think himself was no good to him at all. It left the wolf inside him just the same.

It cannot be denied that he was generally very unhappy; and he could make others unhappy also, that is, when he loved them or they him. For all who got to love him, saw always only the one side in him. Many loved him as a refined and clever and interesting man, and were horrified and disappointed when they had come upon the wolf in him. And they had to because [he] wished, as every sentient being does, to be loved as a whole and therefore it was just with those whose love he most valued that he could least of all conceal and belie the wolf.

There are a good many people of the same kind as [him]. Many artists are of his kind. These persons all have two souls, two beings within them […] and in just such a state of enmity and entanglement towards and within each other as were the wolf and man in Harry. And these men, for whom life has no repose, live at times in their rare moments of happiness with such strength and indescribable beauty, the spray of their moment's happiness is flung so high and dazzlingly over the wide sea of suffering, that the light of it, spreading its radiance, touches others too with its enchantment.

He achieved his aim. He was ever more independent. Only, through this virtue, he was bound the closer to his destiny of suffering. It happened to him as it does to all; what he strove for with the deepest and most stubborn instinct of his being fell to his lot, but more than is good for men. In the beginning his dream and his happiness, in the end it was his bitter fate. The man of power is ruined by power, the man of money by money, the submissive man by subservience, the pleasure seeker by pleasure.

But in the midst of the freedom he had attained he suddenly became aware that his freedom was a death and that he stood alone. The world in an uncanny fashion left him in peace. […] He began to suffocate slowly in the more and more rarefied atmosphere of remoteness and solitude. For now it was his wish no longer, nor his aim, to be alone and independent, but rather his lot and his sentence. The magic wish had been fulfilled and could not be cancelled, and it was no good now to open his arms with longing and goodwill to welcome the bonds of society. People left him alone now.

Now what we call "bourgeois," […] is nothing else than the search for a balance. It is the striving after a mean between the countless extremes and opposites that arise in human conduct. If we take any one of these opposites, such as piety and profligacy, the analogy is immediately comprehensible. It is open to a man to give himself up wholly to spiritual views, to seeking after God, to the ideal of saintliness. On the other hand, he can equally give himself up entirely to the life of instinct, to the lusts of the flesh, and so direct all his efforts to the attainment of momentary pleasures.

Now it is between the two, in the middle of the road, that the bourgeois seeks to walk. He will never be a martyr or agree to his own destruction. On the contrary, his ideal is not to give up but to maintain his own identity. He strives neither for the saintly nor its opposite. In short, his aim is to make a home for himself between two extremes in a temperate zone without violent storms and tempests; and in this he succeeds though it be at the cost of that intensity of life and feeling which an extreme life affords. A man cannot live intensely except at the cost of the self.

Now the bourgeois treasures nothing more highly than the self (rudimentary as his may be). And so at the cost of intensity he achieves his own preservation and security. His harvest is a quiet mind which he prefers to being possessed by God, as he does comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to that deathly inner consuming fire. The bourgeois is consequently by nature a creature of weak impulses, anxious, fearful of giving himself away and easy to rule. Therefore, he has substituted majority for power, law for force, and the polling booth for responsibility.

It is clear that this weak and anxious being, in whatever numbers he exists, cannot maintain himself, and that qualities such as his can play no other role in the world than that of a herd of sheep among free roving wolves. Yet we see that, though in times when commanding natures are uppermost, the bourgeois goes at once to the wall, he never goes under; indeed at times he even appears to rule the world. How is this possible? Neither the great numbers of the herd, nor virtue, nor common sense, nor organization could avail to save it from destruction. Nevertheless the bourgeoisie prospers. Why?

Why? Because of the Steppenwolves. In fact, the vital force of the bourgeoisie resides by no means in the qualities of its normal members, but in those of its extremely numerous "outsiders" who by virtue of the extensiveness and elasticity of its ideals it can embrace.

“Magic Theatre - Entrance Not for Everybody - Anarchist Evening Entertainment - For Madmen Only!” (Part 1)

Harry Haller is a sad and lonely figure, a reclusive intellectual for whom life holds no joy. He struggles to reconcile the wild primeval wolf and the rational man within himself without surrendering to the bourgeois values he despises. His life changes dramatically when he meets a woman who is his opposite, the carefree and elusive Hermine. The tale of the Steppenwolf culminates in the surreal Magic Theater—for mad men only. Steppenwolf is Hesse's best-known and most autobiographical work. With its blend of Eastern mysticism and Western culture, it is one of literature's most poetic evocations of the soul's journey to liberation. Originally published in English in 1929, the novel's wisdom continues to speak to our souls and marks it as a classic of modern literature.

Many works, including Siddhartha (1922) and Steppenwolf (1927), of German-born Swiss writer Hermann Hesse concern the struggle of the individual to find wholeness and meaning in life; he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946.Other best-known works of this poet, novelist, and painter include The Glass Bead Game, which, also known as Magister Ludi, explore a search of an individual for spirituality outside society. In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. 

Hermann Hesse

Steppenwolf

The body and mind suffer from identification with limiting patterns we adopt from past experiences and define as truth. These limiting patterns affect all aspects of our lives.Observe your thoughts instead of believing them.Accept the body and mind as vehicles for self-realization instead of rejecting them.Understand what you are trying to achieve.The eternal self that is you can observe the body; thus, it cannot be the totality of you.You are not your emotions; you are the temporary container for your emotions. Identify with the container, not with what it temporarily holds.

Self-Realization

Be like the sky and allow everything to be as it is. Have no preferences for sun, clouds, or rain. Observe everything that passes through and accept it for its being.Be unconditional and pure love. We are profoundly loved by existence. This love is always present. There is nothing we can do to stop it.Our awareness has no limits, edges, or boundaries.Free yourself from perceived limitations.Experience no-thing-ness.Quiet your mind and rest in your true self - be the container, not the content. Find inner tranquility.

Be Like the Sky

Our body and mind are like the clothes we wear - they are not who we are. Remember, you are the ocean that manifests as a wave. Embrace and cherish every moment of your life.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Connect with your eternal nature</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Be true to yourself</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Embrace every experience</li></ul>

Connect with Your True Self

Lead me from the unreal to the real.Lead me from darkness to light.Lead me from the time bound consciousness, death, to the timeless state of being, immortality, that I am.

Relaxation does not happen by doing more, it happens by doing less. Learn to stop doing.

Yoga Nidra is the master key to initiating shifts in conscious sleep states where change happens outside of doing. In Yoga Nidra you enter a state of non-doing in which transformation happens from beyond the mind rather than through the mind. In this highly regenerative meditative state you can restore and rejuvenate your body, heal and recover from illness and re-wire your brain for greater mental and emotional balance and resiliency. This comprehensive guidebook explores the core of Yogic philosophy and modern applications of Yoga Nidra backed by scientific research - affirming what Yogis have known for thousands of years. You will receive instruction on the practice of Yoga Nidra and the use of intention. You will discover how unconscious thinking patterns and resulting biochemical states contribute to ill health, stress, insomnia, depression, anxiety, bad habits, trauma and addictions and most importantly, how to neutralize them with the Six Tools of Yoga Nidra.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

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Meditation

Kamini Desai

Yoga Nidra

“Did you too learn that secret from the river: that there is no time?”Vasudeva’s face was filled with a bright smile.“Yes, Siddhartha,” he spoke. “It is this what you mean, isn’t it: that the river is everywhere at once, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the rapids, in the sea, in the mountains, everywhere at once, and that there is only the present time for it, not the shadow of the past, not the shadow of the future?”

[W]as not all suffering time, were not all forms of tormenting oneself and being afraid time, was not everything hard, everything hostile in the world gone and overcome as soon as one had overcome time, as soon as time would have been put out of existence by one’s thoughts?

Who has kept the Samana Siddhartha safe from Sansara, from sin, from greed, from foolishness? Were his father’s religious devotion, his teacher’s warnings, his own knowledge, his own search able to keep him safe? Which father, which teacher had been able to protect him from living his life for himself, from soiling himself with life, from burdening himself with guilt, from drinking the bitter drink for himself, from finding his path for himself?

Would you think, my dear, anybody might perhaps be spared from taking this path? That perhaps your little son would be spared, because you love him, because you would like to keep him from suffering and pain and disappointment? But even if you would die ten times for him, you would not be able to take the slightest part of his destiny upon yourself.

In this hour, Siddhartha stopped fighting his fate, stopped suffering. On his face flourished the cheerfulness of a knowledge, which is no longer opposed by any will, which knows perfection, which is in agreement with the flow of events, with the current of life, full of sympathy for the pain of others, full of sympathy for the pleasure of others, devoted to the flow, belonging to the oneness.

When someone is searching, […] then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that he is unable to find anything, to let anything enter his mind, because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by the goal. Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.

But the world itself, what exists around us and inside of us, is never one-sided. A person or an act is never entirely Sansara or entirely Nirvana, a person is never entirely holy or entirely sinful. It does really seem like this, because we are subject to deception, as if time was something real. Time is not real, Govinda, I have experienced this often and often again. And if time is not real, then the gap which seems to be between the world and the eternity, between suffering and blissfulness, between evil and good, is also a deception.

The sinner is not “on his way” to become a Buddha, he is not “in the process” of developing, though our capacity for thinking does not know how else to picture these things. No, within the sinner is now and today already the future Buddha, his future is already all there, you have to worship in him, in you, in everyone the Buddha which is coming into being, the possible, the hidden Buddha.

Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as it is, everything only requires my consent, only my willingness, my loving agreement, to be good for me, to do nothing but work for my benefit, to be unable to ever harm me.

I have experienced on my body and on my soul that I needed sin very much, I needed lust, the desire for possessions, vanity, and needed the most shameful despair, in order to learn how to give up all resistance, in order to learn how to love the world, in order to stop comparing it to some world I wished, I imagined, some kind of perfection I had made up, but to leave it as it is and to love it and to enjoy being a part of it.

I love this very stone, and the river, and all these things we are looking at and from which we can learn. I can love a stone, Govinda, and also a tree or a piece of bark. These are things, and things can be loved. But I cannot love words. Therefore, teachings are no good for me, they have no hardness, no softness, no colours, no edges, no smell, no taste, they have nothing but words. Perhaps it is these which keep you from finding peace, perhaps it is the many words. Because salvation and virtue as well, Sansara and Nirvana as well, are mere words, Govinda.

He no longer saw the face of his friend Siddhartha, instead he saw other faces, many, a long sequence, a flowing river of faces, of hundreds, of thousands, which all came and disappeared, and yet all seemed to be there simultaneously, which all constantly changed and renewed themselves, and which were still all Siddhartha.

And all of these figures and faces rested, flowed, generated themselves, floated along and merged with each other, and they were all constantly covered by something thin, without individuality of its own, but yet existing, like a thin glass or ice, like a transparent skin, a shell or mold or mask of water, and this mask was smiling, and this mask was Siddhartha’s smiling face.

And, Govinda saw it like this, this smile of the mask, this smile of oneness above the flowing forms, this smile of simultaneousness above the thousand births and deaths, this smile of Siddhartha was precisely the same, was precisely of the same kind as the quiet, delicate, impenetrable, perhaps benevolent, perhaps mocking, wise, thousand-fold smile of Gotama, the Buddha, as he had seen it himself with great respect a hundred times. Like this, Govinda knew, the perfected ones are smiling.

The name Siddharta suggests the idea of the siddha, one who has achieved perfection, namely enlightenment. (Part 2)

“You have done so by your own seeking in your own way, through thought, through meditation, through knowledge, through enlightenment. You have learned nothing through teachings, and so I think, O Illustrious One, that nobody finds salvation through teachings. To nobody, O Illustrious One, can you communicate in words and teachings, what happened to you in the hour of your enlightenment. The teachings of the enlightened Buddha embrace much, they teach much—how to live righteously, how to avoid evil. But there is one thing that this clear, worthy instruction does not contain; it does not contain the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced—he alone among hundreds of thousands.”Hermann Hesse, one of the literary stalwarts of the 20th century, was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1946. Hesse wanted to be a poet from the early age of 12, and a slim volume of his poems was published in 1899. Unfortunately, it did not create a significant stir in the literary world. In 1904, Peter Camenzind, Hesse’s debut novel, received tremendous critical acclaim, and it is considered one of the finest works in literature even today. Hesse’s visit to India in 1911 inspired him to delve into the finer details of Eastern religions, and a little over a decade later, Siddhartha (1922) was published. Hermann Hesse received the Goethe Prize of Frankfurt in 1946. In 1955, he received the Peace Prize of the German Booksellers. Steppenwolf and The Glass Bead Game are some of his other seminal works. He died in Montagnola, Switzerland in 1962. Talking Points - This is the ninth novel by Nobel Prize-winning German author Hermann Hesse - Regarded a masterpiece, a cult book in the 1960s - One of the most popular novels set in India and translated into many languages including film adaptations - Explores the quest for enlightenment through the spiritual journey of Siddhartha Worldwide readership/market Students specialising in Buddhist religion and spirituality; philosophers, biographers, readers of classics, literature students, historians, academicians, professors, educational institutes, libraries, film-makers, general trade

Siddhartha: An Indian Tale

But be warned, oh seeker of knowledge, of the thicket of opinions and of arguing about words. There is nothing to opinions, they may be beautiful or ugly, smart or foolish, everyone can support them or discard them.

When Siddhartha left the grove […] then he felt that in this grove his past life also stayed behind and parted from him. He pondered about this sensation, which filled him completely, as he was slowly walking along. He pondered deeply, like diving into a deep water he let himself sink down to the ground of the sensation, down to the place where the causes lie, because to identify the causes, so it seemed to him, is the very essence of thinking, and by this alone sensations turn into realizations and are not lost, but become entities and start to emit like rays of light what is inside of them.

I have not doubted for a single moment that you are Buddha, that you have reached the goal, the highest goal towards which so many thousands of Brahmans and sons of Brahmans are on their way. You have found salvation from death. It has come to you in the course of your own search, on your own path, through thoughts, through meditation, through realizations, through enlightenment. It has not come to you by means of teachings! And—thus is my thought, oh exalted one,—nobody will obtain salvation by means of teachings!

It was the self, the purpose and essence of which I sought to learn. It was the self I wanted to free myself from, which I sought to overcome. But I was not able to overcome it, could only deceive it, could only flee from it, only hide from it. Truly, no thing in this world has kept my thoughts thus busy, as this my very own self, this mystery of me being alive, of me being one and being separated and isolated from all others, of me being Siddhartha! And there is no thing in this world I know less about than about me, about Siddhartha!

That I know nothing about myself, that Siddhartha has remained thus alien and unknown to me, stems from one cause, a single cause: I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself! I searched Atman, I searched Brahman, I was willing to dissect my self and peel off all of its layers, to find the core of all peels in its unknown interior, the Atman, life, the divine part, the ultimate part. But I have lost myself in the process.

How deaf and stupid have I been! […] When someone reads a text, wants to discover its meaning, he will not scorn the symbols and letters and call them deceptions, coincidence, and worthless hull, but he will read them, he will study and love them, letter by letter. But I, who wanted to read the book of the world and the book of my own being, I have, for the sake of a meaning I had anticipated before I read, scorned the symbols and letters, I called the visible world a deception, called my eyes and my tongue coincidental and worthless forms without substance.

All of this, a thousand-fold and colourful, had always been there, always the sun and the moon had shone, always rivers had roared and bees had buzzed, but in former times all of this had been nothing more to Siddhartha than a fleeting, deceptive veil before his eyes, looked upon in distrust, destined to be penetrated and destroyed by thought, since it was not the essential existence, since this essence lay beyond, on the other side of, the visible.

But now, his liberated eyes stayed on this side, he saw and became aware of the visible, sought to be at home in this world, did not search for the true essence, did not aim at a world beyond. Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike. Beautiful were the moon and the stars, beautiful was the stream and the banks, the forest and the rocks, the goat and the gold-beetle, the flower and the butterfly. Beautiful and lovely it was, thus to walk through the world, thus childlike, thus awoken, thus open to what is near, thus without distrust.

All of this had always existed, and he had not seen it; he had not been with it. Now he was with it, he was part of it. Light and shadow ran through his eyes, stars and moon ran through his heart.

But never, he had really found this self, because he had wanted to capture it in the net of thought. With the body definitely not being the self, and not the spectacle of the senses, so it also was not the thought, not the rational mind, not the learned wisdom, not the learned ability to draw conclusions and to develop previous thoughts in to new ones.

No, this world of thought was also still on this side, and nothing could be achieved by killing the random self of the senses, if the random self of thoughts and learned knowledge was fattened on the other hand.Both, the thoughts as well as the senses, were pretty things, the ultimate meaning was hidden behind both of them, both had to be listened to, both had to be played with, both neither had to be scorned nor overestimated, from both the secret voices of the innermost truth had to be attentively perceived.

Did any Samana or Brahman ever fear, someone might come and grab him and steal his learning, and his religious devotion, and his depth of thought? No, for they are his very own, and he would only give away from those whatever he is willing to give and to whomever he is willing to give. […] You are learning easily, Siddhartha, thus you should also learn this: love can be obtained by begging, buying, receiving it as a gift, finding it in the street, but it cannot be stolen.

When you throw a rock into the water, it will speed on the fastest course to the bottom of the water. This is how it is when Siddhartha has a goal, a resolution. Siddhartha does nothing, he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he passes through the things of the world like a rock through water, without doing anything, without stirring; he is drawn, he lets himself fall. His goal attracts him, because he doesn’t let anything enter his soul which might oppose the goal.

“And what is it now what you’ve got to give? What is it that you’ve learned, what you’re able to do?”	“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”	“That’s everything?”	“I believe, that’s everything!”

She taught him that lovers must not part from one another after celebrating love, without one admiring the other, without being just as defeated as they have been victorious, so that none of them should start feeling fed up or bored and get that evil feeling of having abused or having been abused.

“This Brahman,” said [the merchant] to a friend, “is no proper merchant and will never be one, there is never any passion in his soul when he conducts our business. But he has that mysterious quality of those people to whom success comes all by itself, whether this may be a good star of his birth, magic, or something he has learned among Samanas. He always seems to be merely playing with our business-affairs, they never fully become a part of him, they never rule over him, he is never afraid of failure, he is never upset by a loss.”

You are Kamala, nothing else, and inside of you, there is a peace and refuge, to which you can go at every hour of the day and be at home at yourself, as I can also do. Few people have this, and yet all could have it.

Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf, which is blown and is turning around through the air, and wavers, and tumbles to the ground. But others, a few, are like stars, they go on a fixed course, no wind reaches them, in themselves they have their law and their course.

Now Siddhartha also got some idea of why he had fought this self in vain […]. Too much knowledge had held him back, too many holy verses, too many sacrificial rules, too much self-castigation, too much doing and striving for that goal! Full of arrogance, he had been, always the smartest, always working the most, always one step ahead of all others, always the knowing and spiritual one, always the priest or wise one. Into being a priest, into this arrogance, into this spirituality, his self had retreated, there it sat firmly and grew, while he thought he would kill it by fasting and penance.

But more than Vasudeva could teach him, he was taught by the river. Incessantly, he learned from it. Most of all, he learned from it to listen, to pay close attention with a quiet heart, with a waiting, opened soul, without passion, without a wish, without judgement, without an opinion.

The name Siddharta suggests the idea of the siddha, one who has achieved perfection, namely enlightenment. (Part 1)

This carefully crafted ebook: &quot;Siddhartha (An Indian Tale)&quot; is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Translated by: Gunther Olesch, Anke Dreher, Amy Coulter, Stefan Langer and Semyon Chaichenets. Published in 1922, Siddhartha is the most famous and influential novel by Nobel prize-winning author Hermann Hesse. The book was written in German, in a simple, lyrical style and became influential during the 1960s. Set in India, Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin's search for ultimate reality after meeting with the Buddha. His quest takes him from a life of decadence to asceticism, through the illusory joys of sensual love with a beautiful courtesan, and of wealth and fame, to the painful struggles with his son and the ultimate wisdom of renunciation. Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877 – August 9, 1962) was a German poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Hesse,Hermann

Siddhartha (An Indian Tale)

Phaedo is a narrative about the last few hours before Socrates was put to death in prison. As a friend of Socrates, Phaedo tells the story. He meets Echecrates, another scholar, after witnessing Socrates drink poison hemlock. Socrates and his friends were sitting with him in jail while he argued, among other things, that the soul lives forever. Phaedo describes what they said to each other.

Introduction

After an interval of some months or years, and at Phlius, a town of Peloponnesus, the tale of the last hours of Socrates is narrated to Echecrates and other Phliasians by Phaedo the 'beloved disciple.' The Dialogue necessarily takes the form of a narrative, because Socrates has to be described acting as well as speaking. The minutest particulars of the event are interesting to distant friends, and the narrator has an equal interest in them.

Phaedo

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