“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong,” said Swami Vivekananda.
In contrast to our image of the aesthetic, holy man of India, Vivekananda placed great emphasis on strength. To be truly religious, an individual (perhaps especially a man) had to be strong. Why? Continue reading “Life as an Initiatic Test”
I’ve sometimes been criticized by my female friends for suggesting that men might be more romantic than women. Women have to remind their boyfriends or husbands to do the little things like remembering an anniversary or Valentines Day, they remind me. Most men don’t want to go for walks along the beach at sunset, and they aren’t interested in dancing or flowers. But that’s not really what I mean by “romantic.”
The history of the term reveals something curious. From about the beginning of the 14th century, at least, “romance” referred to a story about a knight and his heroic deeds. Only from the 17th century did the term begin to refer to the “love story,” and only in the early 20th century was “a romance” used to describe a love affair. Continue reading “The Romantic Nature of Men”
Providing man with the means of cleansing and perfecting his nature, Philosophy as the art of self-initiation has a long-standing tradition, beginning in Greek coastal Ionia in 7th century BCE.As a form of meditation (Gr: Διαλογισμός), it has assisted man in his quest to answer fundamental questions by looking inwards for answers, while offering a chance to escape fate through personal progress. This becomes possible through a better understanding of our current situation and by connecting or reconnecting with our higher self.
With the use of dialectics, logic, mythological themes, and through the application of methodical questioning (Socratic method), philosophy has become the path of the middle way in the West. The known Delphic maxims “know thyself” and “do nothing in excess” both serve as a reminder to man of his mortality as well as his divine nature. When properly understood and applied in everyday life, they help the seeker of truth square his passions, divest his self of all dogma, and live a virtuous life in harmony with himself, deity, and his environment. Continue reading “Philosophy as the Art of Self-Initiation”
