Incomplete
12-15-2002, 07:18 PM
For those who followed my advise to come here from my Parabola posting, please bear with, its relevant.
There is only one group of people who really, truely know anything worth knowing, and I really hope I don't offend people by saying this, I know some of you hold your beliefs very close to your heart. What proof do you have that your beliefs are the truth? Sorry be the one to pop your bubble.
We will all eventually join that group of people who know. I am referring to the dead. People who have passed on.
Just as a regular, run of the mill philosopher, who thinks too many thoughts and doesn't quite have the brains to deal with them, I have searched for inspiration from many sources. I was a devout Christian in my early to mid teens, belonging to Swedenborg, or the Church of the New Jerusalem, which was in a day to day way was very similar to most Protestant churches, though it did have some quirky beliefs about the end of the world and the book of Revelations. Anyway, I believed that I would have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, that all that I suffered at the hands of bullies and unrequited lovers would be a burden I would bear. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Not that I was massively bullied. I kept quiet, but sometimes its the quiet ones who get the attention. I went to church to alleviate the guilt I had about lust for girls, hatred towards the bullies and the natural teenaged tendency towards masturbation. So I was spoonfed a lot of crap there, but some of it was worth remebering, like "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you" and "love thy neighbour".
Then for a few years, I was directionless. The questioning nature took a while to develop. With music came a desire to know where the music came from. As a big fan of the Beatles, I knew one day that I would try marijuana and see if it really did open something up for me, but I knew that I would never try anything else, because of the inherent dangers.
Then university, and I was introduced to Marilyn Manson, and theories that all he wrote for the AntiChrist Superstar was based on his own interpretation of Frederick Neitzche's work, "Thus Spake Zarathustra"* The theories go that there is no God, that religion makes us submissive because religious teachings prohibit basic human desires and needs. The human that realises this, and casts aside all restrictions will achieve the most, will form their own rules and morals and will be more motivated in all they do, since not suffering from a guilt of achieving. He says that no person can be the "Uberman" (superman) since it would be in the Uberman's nature to constantly question what can be done to improve himself and ultimately fall ill of his own desire to be reach the unachievable perfect form. And so the next contender for the Uberman would stand up. Zarathustra was a character in Neitzche's book that he used to convey his ideas. Manson's album tells the story of a personal evolution of the person to the Uberman and beyond to the point of failing and decay. I've heard that Bowie's early album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust..." tells a very similar story. Maybe I should listen sometime.
*"Thus Spake Zarathustra" is also a piece of orchestral music used for "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Rick Flair's entrance music in the WWE. I'm proud of my shallow side as much as my deep! Also I'd like to point out that its been a while since I've listened to the Manson album, and I only read the first ½ of "Thus Spake Zarathustra"
Anyway, I hated Marilyn's association with Satanism, although he says in his autobio that his membership to the Church of Satan was always tongue in cheek. He agreed a lot with what Anton Lavey said. He just really didn't agree with involving Satan in it all.
(BTW, Marijuana didn't open any gateways, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it for a few year. I quit 2 years ago because I realised that I could enjoy live just as much without. And just as I promised myself in my early teens, I never did touch anything else. I'm not telling you to take drugs, or not take drugs, just make your choice and don't bother us about it).
Tool and curiosity got me interested in the occult and that regular religions don't hold all the answers and that wicca/eastern/ancient wisdoms have some answers. But I'm just a little too tired of looking for answers and a little jaded and cynical because of when my past beliefs didn't work. Hell, I read Fortean Times magazine which often tells stories of paranormal phenomenon with no proper opinion or pre-conceived presumtions about the topics. Bill Hicks, in his comedy, preaches about one god loving us all and being completely benign in nature and completely unlike any of the popular religious models. I suppose he might be right.
My advise to all is, don't hold an opinion. Don't overanalyse why you're here. Don't care if there is a God or not. I'd bet that there is, but it's nature is a complete mystery and those who think they have the answer are no different to the one on the other soap-box, shouting his opinion. And that goes for all religious believers, from the Pope to the Pakistani lad I hang out with at work who goes to the local Mosque.
In all this drivel, I hope that its clear that I don't believe any of what I have in the past, but they've all helped me form a way to live my life, and for that I am grateful. The only way we can know the truth is to die, and I'm having to much fun living my life to die before my time.
You may ask "how can you take any lyrics by Tool seriously, since they often refer to mysticism?" My answer is this: Let the band hold their beliefs. What's to say they are their beliefs or even their opinions, they maybe just stating a point, a possibility in an ocean of opinions? How do you know they're not waving a red herring under your nose? Surely you remember the bizarre and completely fictional religion they subscribed to at the start of their career. "Larinxology" or something, its been a while since I looked it up. Maynard and the band know how to put their tongue in their cheeks, for sure.
I think some of their most sincere and heart-felt lyrics are in Parabola (told you there was some relevence). At 2.53 in to the song "Spinning, weaving round each new experience". Could this be a reference to keep yourself open to ideas and spin and weave who you are out of what is presented to you. How can you do this if your opinions are so strongly held that they cannot be broken down to replace another possibility that presents itself as you journey through life? Its a song of evolution, but it holds onto one fact: We are mortal in this life and our mortal body is the (obvious) evidence of this, but "we are eternal, all this pain is an illusion" (That last line is obviously one of many nods to Bill Hicks, his "Positive news story about drugs" sketch and Bill's belief that he experienced the love of god once, while on magic mushrooms). The lyrics to this song never mention anything about there being a God, but it is positive, saying that there is something after.
A note on my user name: I chose "Incomplete" because all that I know until the day I die is irrelevant to what I will know when I die. I will always be incomplete as a mortal and that is the nature of all of us until we know the truths that have perplexed mankind since we learnt how to ask "Why are we here?" Don't rush to death. Just look forward to knowing the meaning of life, the universe and everything when we die, and don't be afraid of dying.
Have fun living, y'all
David Smith
03.23 16th Dec 2002
North of England.
There is only one group of people who really, truely know anything worth knowing, and I really hope I don't offend people by saying this, I know some of you hold your beliefs very close to your heart. What proof do you have that your beliefs are the truth? Sorry be the one to pop your bubble.
We will all eventually join that group of people who know. I am referring to the dead. People who have passed on.
Just as a regular, run of the mill philosopher, who thinks too many thoughts and doesn't quite have the brains to deal with them, I have searched for inspiration from many sources. I was a devout Christian in my early to mid teens, belonging to Swedenborg, or the Church of the New Jerusalem, which was in a day to day way was very similar to most Protestant churches, though it did have some quirky beliefs about the end of the world and the book of Revelations. Anyway, I believed that I would have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, that all that I suffered at the hands of bullies and unrequited lovers would be a burden I would bear. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Not that I was massively bullied. I kept quiet, but sometimes its the quiet ones who get the attention. I went to church to alleviate the guilt I had about lust for girls, hatred towards the bullies and the natural teenaged tendency towards masturbation. So I was spoonfed a lot of crap there, but some of it was worth remebering, like "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you" and "love thy neighbour".
Then for a few years, I was directionless. The questioning nature took a while to develop. With music came a desire to know where the music came from. As a big fan of the Beatles, I knew one day that I would try marijuana and see if it really did open something up for me, but I knew that I would never try anything else, because of the inherent dangers.
Then university, and I was introduced to Marilyn Manson, and theories that all he wrote for the AntiChrist Superstar was based on his own interpretation of Frederick Neitzche's work, "Thus Spake Zarathustra"* The theories go that there is no God, that religion makes us submissive because religious teachings prohibit basic human desires and needs. The human that realises this, and casts aside all restrictions will achieve the most, will form their own rules and morals and will be more motivated in all they do, since not suffering from a guilt of achieving. He says that no person can be the "Uberman" (superman) since it would be in the Uberman's nature to constantly question what can be done to improve himself and ultimately fall ill of his own desire to be reach the unachievable perfect form. And so the next contender for the Uberman would stand up. Zarathustra was a character in Neitzche's book that he used to convey his ideas. Manson's album tells the story of a personal evolution of the person to the Uberman and beyond to the point of failing and decay. I've heard that Bowie's early album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust..." tells a very similar story. Maybe I should listen sometime.
*"Thus Spake Zarathustra" is also a piece of orchestral music used for "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Rick Flair's entrance music in the WWE. I'm proud of my shallow side as much as my deep! Also I'd like to point out that its been a while since I've listened to the Manson album, and I only read the first ½ of "Thus Spake Zarathustra"
Anyway, I hated Marilyn's association with Satanism, although he says in his autobio that his membership to the Church of Satan was always tongue in cheek. He agreed a lot with what Anton Lavey said. He just really didn't agree with involving Satan in it all.
(BTW, Marijuana didn't open any gateways, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it for a few year. I quit 2 years ago because I realised that I could enjoy live just as much without. And just as I promised myself in my early teens, I never did touch anything else. I'm not telling you to take drugs, or not take drugs, just make your choice and don't bother us about it).
Tool and curiosity got me interested in the occult and that regular religions don't hold all the answers and that wicca/eastern/ancient wisdoms have some answers. But I'm just a little too tired of looking for answers and a little jaded and cynical because of when my past beliefs didn't work. Hell, I read Fortean Times magazine which often tells stories of paranormal phenomenon with no proper opinion or pre-conceived presumtions about the topics. Bill Hicks, in his comedy, preaches about one god loving us all and being completely benign in nature and completely unlike any of the popular religious models. I suppose he might be right.
My advise to all is, don't hold an opinion. Don't overanalyse why you're here. Don't care if there is a God or not. I'd bet that there is, but it's nature is a complete mystery and those who think they have the answer are no different to the one on the other soap-box, shouting his opinion. And that goes for all religious believers, from the Pope to the Pakistani lad I hang out with at work who goes to the local Mosque.
In all this drivel, I hope that its clear that I don't believe any of what I have in the past, but they've all helped me form a way to live my life, and for that I am grateful. The only way we can know the truth is to die, and I'm having to much fun living my life to die before my time.
You may ask "how can you take any lyrics by Tool seriously, since they often refer to mysticism?" My answer is this: Let the band hold their beliefs. What's to say they are their beliefs or even their opinions, they maybe just stating a point, a possibility in an ocean of opinions? How do you know they're not waving a red herring under your nose? Surely you remember the bizarre and completely fictional religion they subscribed to at the start of their career. "Larinxology" or something, its been a while since I looked it up. Maynard and the band know how to put their tongue in their cheeks, for sure.
I think some of their most sincere and heart-felt lyrics are in Parabola (told you there was some relevence). At 2.53 in to the song "Spinning, weaving round each new experience". Could this be a reference to keep yourself open to ideas and spin and weave who you are out of what is presented to you. How can you do this if your opinions are so strongly held that they cannot be broken down to replace another possibility that presents itself as you journey through life? Its a song of evolution, but it holds onto one fact: We are mortal in this life and our mortal body is the (obvious) evidence of this, but "we are eternal, all this pain is an illusion" (That last line is obviously one of many nods to Bill Hicks, his "Positive news story about drugs" sketch and Bill's belief that he experienced the love of god once, while on magic mushrooms). The lyrics to this song never mention anything about there being a God, but it is positive, saying that there is something after.
A note on my user name: I chose "Incomplete" because all that I know until the day I die is irrelevant to what I will know when I die. I will always be incomplete as a mortal and that is the nature of all of us until we know the truths that have perplexed mankind since we learnt how to ask "Why are we here?" Don't rush to death. Just look forward to knowing the meaning of life, the universe and everything when we die, and don't be afraid of dying.
Have fun living, y'all
David Smith
03.23 16th Dec 2002
North of England.