The Heiligenstadt Testament is an early will (and letter) written by Beethoven to his brothers Carl and Johann on 6 October 1802 concerning his increasing deafness. An addendum is dated 10 October 1802. It was discovered among his papers after his death and published (in German) in October 1827. Almost thirty years old, Beethoven discovered he was losing his hearing. After failed attempts find a cure, his hope was shattered. Hearin...

Nietzsche’s imagery, allusions, and treatment of questions of love, envy, and humanity. Notes Generalities The giving of alms is an expression of pity. It’s an ugly version. You’re looking at someone and you're saying to that person: "You can’t help yourself and I know that and I feel sorry for you." There is an assertion of superiority that makes the person who is pitied poorer than they were before. You indicate that they are not a...

Two Japanese archers take aim at a target, circa 1897. Notes Aims Focus Perceptions Your hypothalamus sets your basic aims. This focuses your perceptions. If you are hungry and you walk out of your office and into the kitchen, the world is going to set it self up around your aim. This sheds light on the relationship between ethics and perception. If you are hungry, what you tend to see are all those things relevant to you acquiring ...

Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine, emerges with his followers. Falling in love with Ariadne on first sight, he leaps from his chariot, drawn by two cheetahs, towards her. Ariadne had been abandoned on the Greek island of Naxos by Theseus, whose ship is shown in the distance. The picture shows her initial fear of Bacchus, but he raised her to heaven and turned her into a constellation, represented by the stars above her head. Notes Taki...

Mercury and Psyche by Reinhold Begas (1878). Psyche was granted immortality by Jupiter and forgiven by Venus. The messenger god Mercury went down and took Psyche up to Mount Olympus, where she was reunited with her lover. Mercury Abducting Psyche personifies two concepts: Art and Genius. This signifies that Art raises Genius to immortality. Notes Reality as a Game Played Out Over and Over Again What is the Cold War? This is essentia...

Mount Kailash, depicting the holy family: Shiva and Parvati, cradling Skanda with Ganesha by Shiva's side. This image represents the Axis Mundi, or the Cosmic axis, which represents the "connection between Heaven and Earth" or the "higher and lower realms". Notes The Story of Jacob The story of Jacob, later Israel (he who struggles with God). After serving his time with his uncle Laban, and being deceived by him in the most karmic o...

Notes Virtue encompasses and extends beyond moral and religious contexts. The ideas transcend reality through compelling stories. The necessity of virtue is both for the individual and for society. The Origins of Virtue You cannot understand what makes a virtue until you modulate what constitutes being. Modern people are fundamentally materialistic. And there is some utility in that. We are masters of material transformation. And th...