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 Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 7:40 pm
I dont even see the big deal about not being "allowed" to inflict harm on others.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:59 am
By all means, you're allowed to do whatever the heck you want. The problem I think most people see is that curses are a tool and people really don't like the idea of inexperienced individuals messing around with it because it tends to give the rest of us a bad name.
An example being:
"I put a curse on my science teacher because he gave me a bad grade."
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Nihilistic Seraph Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:39 am
LilaMalvae Starlock Well, just a bit of a rebuff, Lila, while generally it is true that by healing you aren't harming, that isn't always the case. I'd love it if the world was really that simple, but it isn't. Whenever you're healing someone, you're harming something else, even if it be the bacteria that are ravaging someone's body. The things that cause disease in us have spirit to them too. In spite of the thin line between healing and harming, we do it anyway, and that's fine. I think it's fine because it is what we believe is the best thing to do at the time, and in the end that is all we CAN do as human beings. We've got to trust our own judgement at some point and then face the consequences that play out later. What? Okay, every microbe IN THE WORLD does not have a spirit. I don't think so. I do think you're looking into it a bit too much. A lot of times, some healing techniques are chakra imbalances or to heal psychic wounds.... I have no qualms about it. Depression, anxiety, all are DIS-EASE, and can be treated (to a point) by healing techniques. If it is their fate to die or suffer by whatever ails them, then they probably will regardless of what somebody does to help them. That's why it doesn't always work. The universe has a great, funky way of taking care of itself, whether that be simple or complicated. And please, don't talk to me like I'm some kind of crystal-waving fluffy, because I'm not, and I really get offended by the idea. Edit: I thought about it a little and got to pick out my own arguement. There are spirits that cause disease, but even though the tiny spark of life reaches these microbes, I really don't think they have little individual spirits of their own, and I really don't think it would matter if they would. I don't heal by "killing" the ailment. I heal by transferring energy. Instead of blasting, I syphon out, like a bloodletting only no mess, no fuss, and it all gets cycled out into the earth to be regenerated into something useful anyway. And if the person doesn't want to be healed? There's a right to life, but is there not also a right to death?
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:43 am
Banu, I find that remark the doctor made about the diseases having a will to live be an interesting one. Maybe it works for bacteria, but the scientific world is kind of split on whether or not most viruses are even alive. Some think them more akin to even robots. Wiki/Virus Viruses are similar to obligate intracellular parasites as they lack the means for self-reproduction outside a host cell, but unlike parasites, which are living organisms, viruses are not truly alive. They infect a wide variety of organisms, both eukaryotes (such as animals, insects and plants) and prokaryotes (such as bacteria). A virus infecting bacteria is known as a bacteriophage, which is used mainly in its shortened form phage. It has been argued extensively whether viruses are living organisms. They are considered non-living by the majority of virologists as they do not meet all the criteria of the generally accepted definition of life. Among other factors, viruses do not possess a cell membrane or metabolise on their own. A definitive answer is still elusive due to the fact that some organisms considered to be living exhibit characteristics of both living and non-living particles, as viruses do.
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Nihilistic Seraph Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:51 pm
I believe in karma, which is why I normally wouldn't curse anyone. As per healing, I would do what I can for the person, if they are in need (unless the person in question tells me to do otherwise.) As Jameta said, I think we should do what good we can for the person, regardless to whether he/she is good or bad... karma will take care of the rest razz . And I share the same view on healing being a return to the person's original state as WebenBanu (vs. cursing being an added handicap.) I do believe in the right to die... so, if the person in question is able to make the decision, I will respect it. Even if viruses may not actually be alive, they seem to have a will to exist... It's kind of interesting, viruses will inject their DNA into the DNA of other cells and use their host to multiply. They mutate, which makes them difficult to treat... Such mighty opponents, and yet they may not be living. This is a little off topic, but it sort of follows the train of thought of diseases. Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) is a prion disease. Prions are not living things (they are proteins...) and yet, when a bad prion comes around, it converts the good prion into a bad one, thus spreading the disease (and making holes in the brain). It is so difficult to cure, so resilient... and yet is not caused by living things. One has to wonder why something that isn't alive has such a tendency of wanting to remain... Another random thought... would there be a karma backlash if one kills a virus? How about a mosquito? (Or both? It might have been carrying the West Nile virus, or some other deadly disease... and it tried to take someone's blood...) *is a bit brain-dead now...* 4laugh [edit] just spotted the karma thread...
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:49 pm
Why am I not surprised that you brought up TSE...
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Nihilistic Seraph Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:29 pm
blindfaith^_^ Are you saying that you wouldn't stop to help someone bleeding to death because they might not be worthy of life? *blink* No. I'm saying that whether I help them or not is entirely my judgment. Quote: Is there someone you hate so much that you wouldn't help them if they were seriously hurt? Not at present. I don't rule out that possibility, however. Quote: Also many people, including myself believe in that life is sacred and all that can be done to mantain it should be done. That belief, in my mind, doesn't rule out the possibility of cursing. Cursing someone doesn't necessarily imply death or destruction. In fact, I think at times is can hasten the learning of a lesson. In my tradition, many curses have conditions, which, once met, cancel the curse. For example, the curse may state that once one atones for or uderstands the severity of their 'sin', the curse is nul and void. Quote: One thought on this is that most people don't heal random strangers. They heal friends and family, who regardless of whether or not they have a right to life, one would want to have a happy and healthy life. Most people don't curse random strangers either. Quote: I do give healings people I don't know or barely know, and really I do it because I like helping people. I don't want people in pain and suffering. As far as I'm concerned if a person wants the help, and I can give it to them then I will. And how do you know that the healing you give won't end up being harmful? Someone could be healed of the pneumonia that would have killed them only to develop cancer or Alzheimer's a few months down the line. What I'm saying is that healers can't possibly know these things, and in deciding to heal anyway they are using their judgment. Curses involve a similar level of judgment. Quote: One more idea is that healing is natural and in most cases when one "heals" someone they are simply aiding a complex healing process with many other people and factors invovled. Cursing however, is not really a hastening of a natural process. It is intentionally singling someone out, deeming them deserving, and creating a malicious attack on another. I can see that. I'm coming from a different perspective entirely. I feel that negative, harmful consequences to harmful, negative actions are perfectly natural. And I have no problem dealing out those consequences and would expect to feel those consequences myself had I been the perpetrator of said negative actions. Quote: Depends on one's opinion of magic and how it works. Most of my magical endevors are really about channeling universal energy to hasten to bring about whatever is highest and best in my life. I feel like, by leaving my spells open like this, I have removed power from what I "judge" to be right and have opened it up to a more universal opinion of what is right. On several occassions this has not been fun and sunshiny, but I have learned a lot from the experiences. As far as spells/magic/energy work that I have done on or for other people. I always word the spells so that they will be whatever is highest and best for the individual. The other thing I acknowledge is that I can only heal/give to a soul what that person wants or requires. There are some wounds not meant to be healed, or meant to be healed at a later point in time. I tend to work in a similar way. I do my magic but give the Gods the right to veto anything I do. But it is still entirely my responsibility if the spell goes through just as it was my idea to cast it. My Gods aren't required to veto something if it's a bad idea. Also, I firmly believe that sometimes what a soul needs is a good kick in the a**. All this being said, I still don't perform curses often. I feel that most of the time things take care of themselves. But I think that, if I should decide to do so, I'm perfectly within my rights.
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 7:58 pm
LilaMalvae By all means, you're allowed to do whatever the heck you want. The problem I think most people see is that curses are a tool and people really don't like the idea of inexperienced individuals messing around with it because it tends to give the rest of us a bad name. An example being: "I put a curse on my science teacher because he gave me a bad grade." Eh, even if you have experience, that experience tends to lean against doing such things. Perhaps the deal arises out of "playing God", which sort of ties back to the origin of the topic.
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