The Way of the Gods

Quote of the day
'It is not power that corrupts, but fear'
Aung San Suu Kyi

Shinto
Recently I read this books about this guy who becomes involved in project to save the world and promote world peace by placing gods around the world. It was called the 'The Sword of Heaven' by Mikkel Aaland. Here is a quote on shinto (literally translates as way of the gods) I liked out of it (that was taken from another book incidentally.)

"Shinto is not a religion in the normal sense of the word.... Of course, if an awareness of the invisible energies of life (ergo the force from star wars), an awe before the immensity of the cosmos, a deep humility with regard to the smallness of oneself, and a never ending gratitude for the order within nature are taken to be the defining characteristics of religion then Shinto is indeed one... What then is Shinto? In the final analysis, it is a pure expression of human intuition... [which] is the universal inheritance of mankind and is the root of human existence."

Yeah so basically being a follower of the force in star wars seems to be pretty close to being a follower of Shinto. It's funny even the dark side is similar. With Shinto being used for evil in WWII and treating the emperor as an infallible god similar to the emperor in Star Wars.

Oh yeah there were also some cool poems in this book.

Poems
Not mine but still good brain food
Conflict within
weakens the power
to conquer danger
without
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Doubt is a pain
too lonely to know
that faith
is his twin brother
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Things
that have affinity
in their inmost natures
seek one another
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