Category Archives: on Etiquette for the soul

The Serpent and the Symbol

Sacred texts and tales frequently tell of a serpent. The serpentine symbol carries varied understandings for it is the nature of a symbol to stand as portal to an unfathomable well of meaningfulness, the subconscious intimacy with the primal forces … Continue reading

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on Things Foreign–A Divertimento

There is this lesson given in the Chandogya Upanishad, a sacred text of Hinduism. “Just as a bird, tied to a string will fly around in all directions, and finding no resting place anywhere else, will resort to the very … Continue reading

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Occidental Ideas, Part 25: Peroration and Peregrination

A young man, recounting to me his university years, explained that he had initially taken some courses in philosophy and theology but, finding them nebulous, opted to embrace a career in a field of intellectual surety, in science. Internally I … Continue reading

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on the Social Nature of Suicide

Allow me to first acknowledge that not all cases of suicide are directly resultant of social misconduct. There are some among us who suffer certain psychological dispositions toward negativity, depressions, and hallucinations. We, as a social species are in process, … Continue reading

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on Suicide

I have spoken earlier in my missive on Death that we, the living, experience the death of one near and dear as an abysmal tearing asunder, an amputation without benefit of anaesthetic, no matter that that death is expected or … Continue reading

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on Euthanasia

Euthanasia is not the right to die. The Greek word for death is thanatos, the prefix for good or proper is eu-. Euthanasia is the right to a good death, a right to die properly, well. There is no glory, … Continue reading

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on Death, its disposition in cult and culture

 We have a problem. Western Christendom and Western society have both become averse to mourning when someone dies. We think we ought to not, publicly at least, cry, weep, sob, or otherwise express the depths of sorrow and pain experienced … Continue reading

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