the aesthetics of words/concepts... - take the test!
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peace all,
aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty/taste/appearance/art/expression, a study of sensori-emotional values. Basically, your reaction or response or what you feel towards something, e.g. art.
Here is a little unusual exercise you can try...
I would like you to empty your mind, and for each word you read in the list below, note what you first envision/picture, what you feel and what ideas/concepts immediately jump out at you - just from your mind. Only consider the first things that come to your mind, try not to think about it, just let it flow.You may wish to click the "reply" button, then read the message below, and then note down your responses as you go. Or you could just go through it, and not reply.
God
islam
praise
heaven
hell
unity
deen
belief
almighty
truth
strength
weakness
satan
angels
death
love
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Yeh it is hard to describe, when I did it I thought of other words along or without imagery
God powerful. I didn?t think of images but i tried to so then i just thought of the order of the universe i.e. nature and how it works. when i continued typing other words, the thought of God come back to me i thought of how I think there is no escape and then like bam something happens it?s like a hidden miracle.. . Saved when you think all hope is gone. so despair than contentment?
Islam I thought of the word submission and from that I imagined handcuffs attached to Quran lol kinda odd I know... art crossed my mind too like the art you might find on Quran borders
Praise I imagine smiles and claps
Heaven I picture a clear state of mind, calming weather and just unity of everything.. and relaxation. So kinda like a peaceful garden with someone on a hammock smiling
Unity I think of working together, heads nodding, one person passing on one thing to all the people
Hell sad faces, fire, pain, stress
Deen I picture different people with different directions
Belief I see emotions, a person crying, a person smiling a person scared a person at peace
Almighty I just think God
Truth I see a hand raised with a book, people arguing and people writing.
Strength I see a person well dressed with good health and a pen. Another image crossed my mind.. a brain with like wavelengths going in and out of it, invisible to the eye but visible in the mind.
Weakness I see sickness, I see children, I see authority figures shouting and lots and lots of rubbish, literally rubbish. i think of shopping and i think of waste and excessiveness being a huge weakness.
Satan I just think of evil people I know or hear of, bad thought. Bad image
Angels I just think of invisible power
Death automatically makes me think of life, I think of how scary death is, I think of bad things that remind me of death and things needing to be done before death
Love it makes me think of appreciation and dedication I imagine smiles laughs and cries. And then it makes me think of roses lol
That?s what my mind thinks haha dunno if I answered correctly
Peace
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Interesting.
God
"Love". It's been long since i don't call "God" anymore. And it's easy to remember what/how i feel as i'm in it right now. i have no mirror near me now, but i'm sure my face is red, especially the eyes. ) and you know you can almost rhyme "Allah" with "Love" ... either name brings me the Feel.
islam
confusion. no not Confucianism ... just confusion, that's how i feel about it right now.
praise
a smile. a smiling little girl. i don't know what or why. just a pure smile. (i noticed sth similar in Sarah's answer, was she you, Sarah? laugh )
heaven
people, again smiling, beautiful as they're expressing something. i know that face, it's forgiveness
hell
angry face. i won't go through it sorry i can't
unity
i don't know
deen
i felt lied, betrayed
belief
shattered
almighty
i have no idea
truth
as confusing as "Islam" was to me
strength
a child or a kid rising back up after falling
weakness
lying -- saying something dishonest and acting the good
satan
not the red thing, not a creature as much as a phase, or a form of expression
angels
wings. i don't know.
death
something i considered, but it was just a looping hole. an endless corridor with infinite "exit" doors.
love
didn't i tell you about it? )
i used to wish to meet "Love". i don't care about meeting anymore. i used to wish i could always feel this. it's alright. i'll lose it in a few hours, maybe even minutes. the best news i ever had, is that i can come back to it anytime.
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peace HNF, san, sarah, all,
Thanks for the replies. To clarify, there is no right or wrong answer.
It is an exercise in what I would call "conceptual identification and/or purification". What I mean by this is that it may help identify how you view concepts/ideas, your natural inclination or attachment to them, any bias/faults you have in them, the purity of your concepts. You can apply this technique to many things in your life. Hopefully, it will allow a person to understand their thought process better, and in doing so they will learn and develop more positively.san, you may be interested in the works of Osho. He is of a similar view, i.e. "Love is God"
That is the meaning when Jesus says, "God is love." I say to you Love is God. God can be forgotten, but don't forget love -- because it is the purification of love that will bring you to God. If you forget about God completely, nothing is lost. But don't forget love, because love is the bridge. Love is the process of alchemical change in your consciousness.
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i'll check Osho, thx for the pointer. i'm sure many people do feel similarly about it at many times, conscious or not.
i've known this method previously, but from your list, Wakas, i'm most surprised by "heaven" & "hell" ... how it could be so simple for me. of course it's personal and everyone varies greatly (especially when it's spontaneous), that's why i like seeing others' answers, it can be very surprising. (yeh, i'm waiting for your take on it )
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peace san,
I guess its only fair I answer, however after having read the answers my mind will be tainted, but I did run through it when I typed the list initially, so hopefully I will recall and give an accurate response
God ~ one complete surrounding, infinite expansion, all encompassing, the only true wavelength, refuge/home/source. Picture not limited to any particular thing, the whole of one's imagination and that yet unimagined.
islam ~ conformity in action, the stars, the planets, blades of grass, sand grains, everything, resonance. Pictures of every object (non-human) in the universe doing as they were designed.
praise ~ fulfilment of an action of intended design. Picture how the honey bee praises the flower and vice versa, the moon praises the tide and vice versa etc.
heaven ~ bliss, peace, unburdening, lightness, formless happiness, infinite positivity. Pictures of clouds, fruits, light, no definite edges all blended.
hell ~ intense inward destruction, lifeless, infinite negativity. Picture fire, rage.
unity ~ a circle no beginning or end, symmetrical, all equal, whole, as one.
deen ~ a system, an obligation, that which is due a pen is built to write, a human is built to actualise. Picture like the matrix.
belief ~ uncertainty, the unknown, doubt, joy/despair, struggle. Picture a stepping stone, a leap of faith.
almighty ~ any picturing is limiting, thus no picture or conceptualising is possible for me, unique to God, although the first images that come to mind are galaxies and the universe held in His "hand".
truth ~ the realisation/expression of precision, justice, logic, beauty, the only state of being. Picture light, unblemished certainty.
strength ~ within, knowledge, the soul and its striving. Picture chains breaking, a body shedding all its material binds, becoming more than itself.
weakness ~ oneself, self-destructive tendencies, crushing burden. Picture an emaciated being, spiritually and physically, too weak to rise and ascend.
satan ~ temptations internally and externally, vanities, desires, lusts, superficialities. Picture a battle for one's soul/mind/heart with an enemy of your own making.
angels ~ the other side of the equation in which the function is realised, nature's laws, functions governing our existence. Picture mathematical formulas behind the scenes being expressed and zooming by, all around.
death ~ the end, release, nothingness. Picture blackness, nothing, an end to all light.
love ~ a stillness within, tranquillity, simply being true to the wavelength, resonating on its frequency, overflowing. Picture the heart beating to this rhythm.
