Think Forward.

About demons 11426

Tupan, 1 y.
Demons have fascinated and terrified humanity for ages, appearing across religious, cultural, and esoteric traditions with different interpretations of their nature, origin, and purpose. While often regarded as malevolent beings, some traditions consider demons as neutral forces, psychological symbols, or even essential parts of the cosmic balance. In Abrahamic traditions, demons are frequently associated with the rebellion of angels against divine authority. In Christianity, they are seen as fallen angels cast out of heaven for defying God, led by Satan. The Book of Revelation recounts a celestial war where these angels were defeated and exiled, while the Book of Enoch describes how the Watchers, a group of angels, descended to Earth, mated with human women, and produced the Nephilim, which led to their downfall. Islamic tradition introduces the jinn, beings of smokeless fire distinct from angels and humans. Although not inherently evil, jinn possess free will, and Iblis, who refused to bow to Adam, is often equated with Satan and symbolizes disobedience. In Mesopotamian belief systems, demons like Lamashtu and Pazuzu were spirits capable of causing illness or misfortune. These figures, while feared, were also invoked for protection against greater evils and were often seen as neutral forces rather than purely malevolent entities. Ancient Greek culture viewed daimons as spirits that were neither good nor evil, often serving as intermediaries between the divine and humanity, offering guidance or inspiration. Over time, under Christian influence, the term "demon" took on a wholly negative connotation. In Hinduism, demons are represented as powerful beings such as the Asuras and Rakshasas, who oppose the gods. While some Asuras embody qualities like greed or pride, others are noble or misunderstood figures. Buddhism introduces Mara, a figure embodying temptation and distraction, whose role is to hinder enlightenment and spiritual progress. Demons are often depicted as inherently evil in many religious traditions, associated with temptation, possession, and opposition to divine plans. However, in occult and esoteric traditions, demons are seen as primal forces or archetypes that can be summoned and directed for specific purposes. The Ars Goetia describes demons as entities capable of providing knowledge, wealth, or influence when approached through proper rituals. Modern interpretations sometimes view demons as symbols of internal struggles or repressed desires. Carl Jung’s concept of the shadow archetype aligns with this view, suggesting that demons may represent unintegrated aspects of the psyche. In mystical traditions, demons are occasionally seen as teachers or testers, pushing practitioners toward spiritual growth or enlightenment through challenges. Some traditions suggest that demons arise from human emotions or actions. Tibetan Buddhism, for instance, describes tulpas, thought-forms created by intense mental focus, which can become malevolent if neglected or mismanaged. Esoteric systems often regard demons as natural cosmic forces, emerging from the balance of creation and destruction, light and darkness. They are sometimes perceived as adversaries working to tempt or harm humans, gatekeepers of spiritual knowledge who test the worthiness of seekers, or cosmic balancers maintaining the equilibrium between chaos and order. Demons are frequently portrayed as grotesque beings combining human and animal traits, such as horns, wings, or claws. However, others are described as alluring or beautiful, hiding their true nature. In esoteric practices, demons may manifest as abstract energies, shadows, or geometric patterns, emphasizing their symbolic or metaphysical nature. Engaging with demons in occult traditions often involves rituals that prioritize protection, such as creating sacred circles or invoking higher powers. Offerings are sometimes made to establish respect, and interactions can range from commanding demons, as in Solomonic magic, to forming partnerships with them. Demons occupy a unique space in humanity’s spiritual and psychological landscape, representing a spectrum of meanings across cultures and traditions. Whether seen as adversaries, neutral cosmic forces, or internal symbols, their complexity requires careful preparation, respect, and ethical consideration for those who choose to engage with them.
Tupan Tupan

Tupan

I have several interests (too many to list here) and I would like to write about some experiences I've had and ideas about them.


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THE ENCHIRIDION - I 5201

Bluwr X Commons: Epictetus, 2 y.
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1.1 min read.
There are things which are within our power, and there are things which are beyond our power. Within our power are opinion, aim, desire, aversion, and, in one word, whatever affairs are our own. Beyond our power are body, property, reputation, office, and, in one word, whatever are not properly our own affairs. Now the things within our power are by nature free, unrestricted, unhindered; but those beyond our power are weak, dependent, restricted, alien. Remember, then, that if you attribute freedom to things by nature dependent and take what belongs to others for your own, you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will find fault both with gods and men. But if you take for your own only that which is your own and view what belongs to others just as it really is, then no one will ever compel you, no one will restrict you; you will find fault with no one, you will accuse no one, you will do nothing against your will; no one will hurt you, you will not have an enemy, nor will you suffer any harm. Aiming, therefore, at such great things, remember that you must not allow yourself any inclination, however slight, toward the attainment of the others; but that you must entirely quit some of them, and for the present postpone the rest. But if you would have these, and possess power and wealth likewise, you may miss the latter in seeking the former; and you will certainly fail of that by which alone happiness and freedom are procured. Seek at once, therefore, to be able to say to every unpleasing semblance, “You are but a semblance and by no means the real thing.” And then examine it by those rules which you have; and first and chiefly by this: whether it concerns the things which are within our own power or those which are not; and if it concerns anything beyond our power, be prepared to say that it is nothing to you.

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER - PREFACE 5394

Bluwr X Commons: Mark Twain, 2 y.
- Short Stories -
0.6 min read.
Most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own, the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also, but not from an individual—he is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom I knew, and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture. The odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at the period of this story—that is to say, thirty or forty years ago. Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in. THE AUTHOR. HARTFORD, 1876.

THE MEDITATIONS - Book I.[1/3] 5536

Bluwr X Commons: Marcus Aurelius, 2 y.
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3.7 min read.
1. I learned from my grandfather, Verus, to use good manners, and to put restraint on anger. 2. In the famous memory of my father I had a pattern of modesty and manliness. 3. Of my mother I learned to be pious and generous; to keep myself not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and to live with a simplicity which is far from customary among the rich. 4. I owe it to my great-grandfather that I did not attend public lectures and discussions, but had good and able teachers at home; and I owe him also the knowledge that for things of this nature a man should count no expense too great. 5. My tutor taught me not to favour either green or blue at the chariot races, nor, in the contests of gladiators, to be a supporter either of light or heavy armed. He taught me also to endure labour; not to need many things; to serve myself without troubling others; not to intermeddle in the affairs of others, and not easily to listen to slanders against them. 6. Of Diognetus I had the lesson not to busy myself about vain things; not to credit the great professions of such as pretend to work wonders, or of sorcerers about their charms, and their expelling of Demons and the like; not to keep quails (for fighting or divination), nor to run after such things; to suffer freedom of speech in others, and to apply myself heartily to philosophy. Him also I must thank for my hearing first Bacchius, then Tandasis and Marcianus; that I wrote dialogues in my youth, and took a liking to the philosopher’s pallet and skins, and to the other things which, by the Grecian discipline, belong to that profession. 7. To Rusticus I owe my first apprehensions that my nature needed reform and cure; and that I did not fall into the ambition of the common Sophists, either by composing speculative writings or by declaiming harangues of exhortation in public; further, that I never strove to be admired by ostentation of great patience in an ascetic life, or by display of activity and application; that I gave over the study of rhetoric, poetry, and the graces of language; and that I did not pace my house in my senatorial robes, or practise any similar affectation. I observed also the simplicity of style in his letters, particularly in that which he wrote to my mother from Sinuessa. I learned from him to be easily appeased, and to be readily reconciled with those who had displeased me or given cause of offence, so soon as they inclined to make their peace; to read with care; not to rest satisfied with a slight and superficial knowledge; nor quickly to assent to great talkers. I have him to thank that I met with the discourses of Epictetus, which he furnished me from his own library. 8. From Apollonius I learned true liberty, and tenacity of purpose; to regard nothing else, even in the smallest degree, but reason always; and always to remain unaltered in the agonies of pain, in the losses of children, or in long diseases. He afforded me a living example of how the same man can, upon occasion, be most yielding and most inflexible. He was patient in exposition; and, as might well be seen, esteemed his fine skill and ability in teaching others the principles of philosophy as the least of his endowments. It was from him that I learned how to receive from friends what are thought favours without seeming humbled by the giver or insensible to the gift. 9. Sextus was my pattern of a benign temper, and his family the model of a household governed by true paternal affection, and a steadfast purpose of living according to nature. Here I could learn to be grave without affectation, to observe sagaciously the several dispositions and inclinations of my friends, to tolerate the ignorant and those who follow current opinions without examination. His conversation showed how a man may accommodate himself to all men and to all companies; for though companionship with him was sweeter and more pleasing than any sort of flattery, yet he was at the same time highly respected and reverenced. No man was ever more happy than he in comprehending, finding out, and arranging in exact order the great maxims necessary for the conduct of life. His example taught me to suppress even the least appearance of anger or any other passion; but still, with all this perfect tranquillity, to possess the tenderest and most affectionate heart; to be apt to approve others yet without noise; to have much learning and little ostentation. 10. I learned from Alexander the Grammarian to avoid censuring others, to refrain from flouting them for a barbarism, solecism, or any false pronunciation. Rather was I dexterously to pronounce the words rightly in my answer, confining approval or objection to the matter itself, and avoiding discussion of the expression, or to use some other form of courteous suggestion. 11. Fronto made me sensible how much of envy, deceit and hypocrisy surrounds princes; and that generally those whom we account nobly born have somehow less natural affection. 12. I learned from Alexander the Platonist not often nor without great necessity to say, or write to any man in a letter, that I am not at leisure; nor thus, under pretext of urgent affairs, to make a practice of excusing myself from the duties which, according to our various ties, we owe to those with whom we live. 13. Of Catulus I learned not to condemn any friend’s expostulation even though it were unjust, but to try to recall him to his former disposition; to stint no praise in speaking of my masters, as is recounted of Domitius and Athenodorus; and to love my children with true affection. 14. Of Severus, my brother, I learned to love my kinsmen, to love truth, to love justice. Through him I came to know Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, and Brutus. He gave me my first conception of a Commonwealth founded upon equitable laws and administered with equality of right; and of a Monarchy whose chief concern is the freedom of its subjects. Of him I learned likewise a constant and harmonious devotion to Philosophy; to be ready to do good, to be generous with all my heart. He taught me to be of good hope and trustful of the affection of my friends. I observed in him candour in declaring what he condemned in the conduct of others; and so frank and open was his behaviour, that his friends might easily see without the trouble of conjecture what he liked or disliked.