Re: fire and spirituality -- Unofficial Chris Cornell Forum

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Date Posted: 09:35:36 02/17/06 Fri
Author: 23
Subject: Re: fire and spirituality
In reply to: chrys 's message, "fire and spirituality" on 03:41:02 02/17/06 Fri

(a painting by glass artist Dale Chihuly, I think it does a decent job of representing what this concept describes)

You're right, I don't think we have any good words for what you're describing. It's something we all inherently understand, but it's not something we particularly know how to articulate.

In poker, we call it heart. It's a weird blend of courage and desire and gumption. It's the place where we are more than our physical selves, the best part of us, in a sense. The part of us that sees the odds stacked against us, and still jumps in anyway.

And yeah, I think that's what the old myths were there to cultivate - this sense of possibilities to strive toward. It's the thing that allows us to do or be whatever we put our minds toward.

Strength of character, integrity, spirit, heart, all these words dance around the concept, but none of them really hit it head on.

It's what defines heroes, I think.

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[> Re: fire and spirituality -- 23, 09:44:25 02/17/06 Fri [1]

A Confucian saying (quoted in one of my favorite books, Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson) that is somewhat relevant to this discussion:

To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.

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