Beauty in darkness

Originally Posted by utopiandreamchild

Are they the angels that followed Lucifer in the rebellion and were cast from heaven are they? Is that how they became demons?

The name Lucifer actually means "Bringer of Light" - lux means light. The word "angel" has its root in the word "El", which is from Sumerian mythology and it means shining or Shining One, the word Elohim as it is used in the Bible. Similarly with all the angel names that end in 'el' - Michael, Raphael...... The rebellion and the casting out theme - similarly with Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods and giving it to man - most likely also goes back to Sumer and the squabbling with the Annunaki, particularly the ding-dong between Enki and Enlil, and the Annunaki council. There's some debate as to which one became God but it's generally recognised as Enlil who was the basis of the Old Testament God and Enki was often the good angel. It was Enlil who wanted to wipe out mankind with the flood and Enki was the good angel who told Noah to build the ark. The myth continues back to the Garden of Eden where Enki, who engineered the DNA strand to create the frontal lobes of the brain and enable the local monkeys to have conscious experiences. Enki is cast there as the serpent (DNA strand) and the Tree of Knowledge - another theme repeated throughout history and most likely of Pagan origins - being consciousness.

The Christian church had a propensity for demonising and it created a fear-based religion that was part of the control mechanism, religion's version of the boogey man. If you don't fear God and pray for deliverance Satan's gonna getcha getcha getcha. Interestingly Enlil's title was supposedly "Satam" but again there's disagreements.

If we don't spend enough time and effort to go past the superficial layers in order to wax Spiritual over light and dark, then are we really in the Light at all?

[utopiandreamchild]

Originally Posted by ketzer

I often feel like I find great beauty and meaning in the darker and sad side of the life experience.

Sad music, sad or tragic stories (fiction, nonfiction, history), dark poetry, dark art, and other sad/dark things I can't think of at the moment. Of course, it is not just dark things, I appreciate the happier joyful side of art, history, life, etc. just as much (I mean I am not goth ). But I am often drawn to those darker aspects of the human experience and they in some way make me feel good instead of sad.

I am also aware that many people are not, and would rather steer clear of the darker and sad side of life. Often they almost think something is wrong with those who appreciate those sad and dark moments.

I am curious as to how others on this forum line up. Do you find you derive beauty and meaning from the darker aspects of life and are often drawn in (maybe even comforted) by them, or do they just bring you down and would prefer to avoid them when that is possible?

Any reflections on why we are one way or the other?

The thing is to love the darkness. It's beautiful. Why not. Amen

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

The name Lucifer actually means "Bringer of Light" - lux means light. The word "angel" has its root in the word "El", which is from Sumerian mythology and it means shining or Shining One, the word Elohim as it is used in the Bible. Similarly with all the angel names that end in 'el' - Michael, Raphael...... The rebellion and the casting out theme - similarly with Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods and giving it to man - most likely also goes back to Sumer and the squabbling with the Annunaki, particularly the ding-dong between Enki and Enlil, and the Annunaki council. There's some debate as to which one became God but it's generally recognised as Enlil who was the basis of the Old Testament God and Enki was often the good angel. It was Enlil who wanted to wipe out mankind with the flood and Enki was the good angel who told Noah to build the ark. The myth continues back to the Garden of Eden where Enki, who engineered the DNA strand to create the frontal lobes of the brain and enable the local monkeys to have conscious experiences. Enki is cast there as the serpent (DNA strand) and the Tree of Knowledge - another theme repeated throughout history and most likely of Pagan origins - being consciousness.

The Christian church had a propensity for demonising and it created a fear-based religion that was part of the control mechanism, religion's version of the boogey man. If you don't fear God and pray for deliverance Satan's gonna getcha getcha getcha. Interestingly Enlil's title was supposedly "Satam" but again there's disagreements.

If we don't spend enough time and effort to go past the superficial layers in order to wax Spiritual over light and dark, then are we really in the Light at all?

If you look in the Bible, it does not appear the Jews were following the Jewish laws till they returned to Judea after being held in captivity in Babylon. Many speculate the Jews didn't just adopt Babylonian beliefs (which were based on older cultures such a Sumeria) but they may have created the first 5 books of the Bible during that time period.

Satan is sometimes referenced as appearing as an Angel of Light.

Originally Posted by BigJohn

If you look in the Bible, it does not appear the Jews were following the Jewish laws till they returned to Judea after being held in captivity in Babylon. Many speculate the Jews didn't just adopt Babylonian beliefs (which were based on older cultures such a Sumeria) but they may have created the first 5 books of the Bible during that time period.

Satan is sometimes referenced as appearing as an Angel of Light.

I think the truth is buried in the sands of time somewhere, which is a shame because it would be a truth to change the perspective of a culture and its history. And threads like this because the discussion of darkness is darkness itself. I'm glad I'm a big fan of irony because there's plenty of it here. Genesis is largely based on the Enuma Elsih according to scholars, and The Deluge is a rewrite from the tales of Gilgamesh. What's not generally known though is that many cultures also had their flood myths around that time, most notable the Mayans. Just prior to that we were in a mini ice age and the ice seems to have melted overnight in geological time.

The Sumerian Annunaki and the Elohim are also mentioned in the Bible, but there seems to have been a global exchange of culture going on because according to Graham Hancock, some 495 cultures worldwide and across history and geography also have the Shining Ones in their mythology. The Irish called them the Tautha de Danaan or the Children of Diana, and they arrived in what's decribed as something similar to Vimana or flying machines that were mentioned in the Mahabarat. Native Anmericam Indians called them ThunderBeings. Something was going on.

Alternative Genesis makes interesting reading sometimes, it doesn't seem to have a religious or any other kind of agenda other than to find some kind of objective truth in the translation. What it does sound like though, certainly in the first few verses, is terraforming - http://www.goldenageproject.org.uk/genesis.php

Back in those days everybody was stealing everybody else's beliefs, or going into direct conflict with them. I guess all we have left is beliefs and in most cases agenda and the truth will always be hidden in the darkness. Perhaps what's needed most of all in a thread like this is to go a little deeper, but then to the lizard brain that's fixated on survival that's not going to happen any time soon.

Originally Posted by utopiandreamchild

Are they the angels that followed Lucifer in the rebellion and were cast from heaven are they? Is that how they became demons?

Nearly. The story originates in Sumer, it's the tale of the Annunaki and it reads as though it's more sci-fi than religion, considering the Annunaki were supposedly aliens in the first place. It also becomes tangled with Enki, Enlil, Marduk and the council, but the 'fallen angels' didn't actually fall, they came to earth. One faction came to earth to mine for mono-atomic gold and used the local hominids as slaves - and here we are today. Another faction headed by Marduk (who some say is the basis for God) said it was immoral. The church picked up on the legends then demonised those that didn't follow God's/Marduk's strict rules. Demons have been used by the church ever since as part of the control mechanism, and today we're still scared of the bogey man because of it.

[BigJohn]

I personally find the Sumerians interesting in that they came up with a base 60 counting
system (sexagesimal) as opposed to our decimal system (base 10).

As far as I know, it is a toss up which number system came first, decimal or sexagesimal.

Later, I became very good in adding numbers using the sexegismal system just by using my fingers.

Originally Posted by BigJohn

I personally find the Sumerians interesting in that they came up with a base 60 counting
system (sexagesimal) as opposed to our decimal system (base 10).

As far as I know, it is a toss up which number system came first, decimal or sexagesimal.

Later, I became very good in adding numbers using the sexegismal system just by using my fingers.

For me it's not just the counting system but the mind that came up with it in the first place. A straight decimal system is understandable, but one that uses multiplication as in five per knuckle? How differently would Pythagoras' work have been on decimals?

[BigJohn]

Calculating PI in a base 10 system can never be reached..... Pi appears to be an endless number..... 3.141592653 and on and on.

But in a sexegesimal system, Pi can be calculated.

Sexegesimal number system is still with us but is reflective as a base 10 system. For example, time - 60 seconds, 60 minutes.
Same goes for navigation - 60 seconds, 60 minutes

[utopiandreamchild]

Originally Posted by ketzer

I often feel like I find great beauty and meaning in the darker and sad side of the life experience.

Sad music, sad or tragic stories (fiction, nonfiction, history), dark poetry, dark art, and other sad/dark things I can't think of at the moment. Of course, it is not just dark things, I appreciate the happier joyful side of art, history, life, etc. just as much (I mean I am not goth ). But I am often drawn to those darker aspects of the human experience and they in some way make me feel good instead of sad.

I am also aware that many people are not, and would rather steer clear of the darker and sad side of life. Often they almost think something is wrong with those who appreciate those sad and dark moments.

I am curious as to how others on this forum line up. Do you find you derive beauty and meaning from the darker aspects of life and are often drawn in (maybe even comforted) by them, or do they just bring you down and would prefer to avoid them when that is possible?

Any reflections on why we are one way or the other?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Amen

[CelestialZero]

I think it's all just a learning experience. Darkness as a teacher to understand it the rest of your eternal experience