Myths, Legends, Fairy stories - What do they mean?

[Chrysaetos]

Originally Posted by themaster

Because the best of "new age" just says.. here's some helpful information.. just have a look and see if it helps.. and if it doesn't resonate.. discard it.. the interesting thing about the "new age" religion is.. it's pick what works for you.. not "this is how we do it" mantra..

It can get dangerous. People starving to death because they believe they can live on air, people not actively changing their lives because they believe a prayer alone can do the trick, people accepting diseases without trying to find a cure because they believe it's their karma, epidemics in religious communities and refuse vaccination, people scorning at science while enjoying all the benefits that science gave them..

The naive bunnie 'n butterfly mentality will give full playground to hazardous predators like Muslim fundamentalists.
We can already see this in Europe, criticizing Islam means you're a racist.

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But let's get back on thread.. faeries and all of that. (harmless btw!)

[Chrysaetos]

Originally Posted by Summerland

I am wondering how it is that you once believed in the more paranormal side of life and then became so pragmatic and is there a reason why you returned to a more linear, logical manner of thought.

I never made that claim. I have repeatedly stated that I have beliefs too, but I don't take them too seriously. They can change from time to time.

Originally Posted by Chrysaetos

I never made that claim. I have repeatedly stated that I have beliefs too, but I don't take them too seriously. They can change from time to time.

You have, however I am no longer interested in trying to reach you in any manner. I am not going back over dozen of threads to prove a thing. I have tried to respond to you as honestly as possible. I have tried to inquire even into your weather just to be a bit more of person-to-person, human-to-human. I once battled a personality much like yourself on a political blog. It was frustrating and fruitless. Once we put our differences behind us, we were able to find common denominators and become very good friends. And it was sad the bashing that he went thru on the site; somehow we were able to see each other as people and he was a very sweet, elderly man taking care of his ill wife. I was able to understand him and he was able to understand me; we were able to see each other as HUMANS. Does this have any bearing on trying to communicate with you, asking what you believe in and what you have seen in your travels? For me, it does and for you it doesn't .So I am going to leave it at that. I find it to difficult to have a dialogue on a spiritual forum with someone who has no belief in the magic that surrounds us and of the mysteries yet to be solved.

Originally Posted by Chrysaetos

It can get dangerous. People starving to death because they believe they can live on air, people not actively changing their lives because they believe a prayer alone can do the trick, people accepting diseases without trying to find a cure because they believe it's their karma, epidemics in religious communities and refuse vaccination, people scorning at science while enjoying all the benefits that science gave them..

The naive bunnie 'n butterfly mentality will give full playground to hazardous predators like Muslim fundamentalists.
We can already see this in Europe, criticizing Islam means you're a racist.

It is only dangerous if you believe death is a bad thing.. ironically.. "new age" has a cure-it-all-tonic-water fix for that too

[Chrysaetos]

Originally Posted by Summerland

You have, however I am no longer interested in trying to reach you in any manner. I am not going back over dozen of threads to prove a thing. I have tried to respond to you as honestly as possible. I have tried to inquire even into your weather just to be a bit more of person-to-person, human-to-human. I once battled a personality much like yourself on a political blog. It was frustrating and fruitless. Once we put our differences behind us, we were able to find common denominators and become very good friends. And it was sad the bashing that he went thru on the site; somehow we were able to see each other as people and he was a very sweet, elderly man taking care of his ill wife. I was able to understand him and he was able to understand me; we were able to see each other as HUMANS. Does this have any bearing on trying to communicate with you, asking what you believe in and what you have seen in your travels? For me, it does and for you it doesn't .So I am going to leave it at that. I find it to difficult to have a dialogue on a spiritual forum with someone who has no belief in the magic that surrounds us and of the mysteries yet to be solved.

I don't see where the conflict arises Summerland. I am just a sceptical person, but I have never said that faeries or Atlantis never existed.

Somewhere in this thread I spoke about superficial encounters with beings that looked just like videogame characters. What we do during our daily activities and what we believe in can have an effect on our ''mystical'' experiences. Just as a Hindu will experience a Krishna during a meditation and a Christian will experience a Jesus. I know Christians who believe the end of the world is near and the Anti-Christ in on earth, because God told them so in a dream.

It seems that within modern spiritual movements it's almost a taboo to even consider experiences might lead to false conclusions.
Or that some beliefs are just baloney. I see no taboos, I examine as much as I can.

Originally Posted by themaster

It is only dangerous if you believe death is a bad thing..

So you're okay with people starving to death because they believe they can live on air, accepting disease and refusing a cure in the name of karma, accepting war, and more..
all in the name of ideology. No sense of empathy, responsibility and helping?

Originally Posted by Chrysaetos

So you're okay with people starving to death because they believe they can live on air, accepting disease and refusing a cure in the name of karma, accepting war, and more..
all in the name of ideology. No sense of empathy, responsibility and helping?

Yep, Absolutely

I'm so okay with that.. and killing mosquitoes all the same thing

[Kaere]

Can we please bring the discussion back to the topic and not each other.

I believe myths are predicated on the idea that we have an answer when asked, 'Is this all there is?"

Originally Posted by eraser

I think all great stories have at their heart a kernel of truth - some aspect of a life lesson from which we can learn.

Agreed!

We have even come to recognize that an event follows the same pattern described in certain tales. I can't count how many times I have heard that something was a "cinderella story."

[norseman]

Lets pick up on the fae, myths, and legends, and make an assumption that ALL must have a smidgeon of truth in them. So, lets explain this area.
Two roots to pick up on.
First root - the scientific one. The "old" notion that the universe is based on rationality and certainty, i.e. Newtonian physics, that had "god" as the Supreme Watchmaker really is a dead duck. Out of the work that resulted in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants came a piece of research that knocked this notion of objectivity sideways. Simple conclusion really [ from Heisenberg ] - the universe does not work on the basis of Certainty but on Uncertainty. The key word is Probability, not Absolutes.
So, everything is possible with varying degrees of probability. The second nail in Newton's coffin comes from the Observer Effect. Paraphrased as in any experiment, the observer [ experimenter ] becomes part of the experiment and has an influence on the result.
Now throw in the Laws of Thermodynamics, especially the Law of Conservation. "Matter/Energy can neither be created or destroyed, but can be converted."
Three key concepts which say that there is no absolute barrier to the existence of the fae, unicorns, and whatever.
That's Norsey's First Principle.
Before launching into my second principle, I should say that I was science trained and worked for many decades as an Industrial Chemist before an epiphany turned me to the "Dark Side" of serving Gaia.

Second possibility.
Fae, etc are race memories. But of what ?
In general, there are/were two main "types" of nature spirits.
Type One : elves, faery, etc
Type Two : dwarves, goblins etc
To keep this simple, let us take just two branches of mankind.
Branch 1 - Neanderthal - stocky, very strong, long arms, short legs, lots of body hair, dark complexions, large wide noses. Rather static and traditional in their life style but superbly adapted to their environment.
Branch 2 - Cro-Magnon - tall and slender, more refined facial features, hunters, "engineers" and "farmers", more adaptable in life style, tended to adapt their environment to their advantage.
Branch 1 and 2 co-existed.
My notion is a race memory cross-over
Type 1 [above] were the race memories of the Neanderthal, and Type 2 were the race memories of the Cro-Magnon.

So why are these legends still so strong ? Darkside Norse maintains that the Earth remembers the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon, and sensitised people and children pick up on these memories like waking dreams. I do have experiences of these Earth memories.