What Is the Thucydides Trap... And Should We Fear It?

<p>Dear Classical Wisdom Reader,</p><p>It is not often that an ancient Greek historian finds himself at the center of modern geopolitical headlines...much less in discussions involving arguably the two most powerful men in the world!</p><p>And yet that is precisely what happened... and so we would, of course, be remiss to not discuss it in these humble pages.</p><p>You see, during the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping, Xi referenced the question of whether the two nations could avoid falling into the so-called “Thucydides Trap.”</p><p>The phrase, drawn from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, describes the dangerous dynamic that emerges when a rising power threatens to displace an established one. More than 2,400 years after Athens challenged Sparta, Thucydides’ observations on fear, ambition, and geopolitical rivalry remain more relevant than ever.</p><p><strong>But what exactly is the Thucydides Trap?</strong></p><p><strong>What did Thucydides actually mean?</strong></p><p><strong>And are we truly doomed to repeat the same destructive patterns that consumed the ancient Greek world?</strong></p><p>To answer those questions, we must return to the historian himself... and to the brutal war that inspired one of history’s most enduring political ideas.</p><p>Please read the article below on the Thucydides trap and discuss in the comments your thoughts on the topic...</p><p><strong>Classical Wisdom Members:</strong> this week we will also be exploring the idea of the statesman. What separates a true statesman or stateswoman from an ordinary politician? And what can we learn from figures such as Pericles, Alcibiades, Cicero, and Cato the Younger?</p><p>Make sure to become a member to receive this special issue of <em>Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine</em>, along with access to our ebooks, podcasts, courses, and more:</p><p><a href="https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Become a Member</span></a></p><p>And now, onto Thucydides... and his famous trap...</p><p>All the best,<br>Anya Leonard</p><p>Founder and Director<br>Classical Wisdom</p><h1>What Is the Thucydides Trap?</h1><p><em>By Anya Leonard</em></p><p>The ancient Greeks understood something uncomfortable about power... it is rarely static.</p><p>Empires rise... Rivals emerge... Fear grows.... and all too often, war follows.</p><p>This grim pattern lies at the heart of what we now call the “Thucydides Trap,” a phrase popularized by political scientist Graham Allison to describe the dangerous tension that emerges when a rising power threatens to displace an established one.</p><p>Of course dedicated classicists will recognize that the term refers to the ancient historian Thucydides, whose account of the Peloponnesian War remains one of the most penetrating studies of human conflict ever written.</p><p>It was in this work that Thucydides famously observed what happens when a rising power threatens an established one. As he wrote in Book I.23 of <em>History of the Peloponnesian War</em>:</p><blockquote><p>“What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.” - Thucydides </p></blockquote><p>Essentially, Thucydides is saying that Athens’ rise in power is what caused the Peloponnesian War...the previous power feels threatened and doesn’t manage the emerging empire well, resulting in conflict.</p><div><figure><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a><div><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a><source type="image/webp"><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" alt=""></a></source><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a><div><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a><div><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a></div><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a></div><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a></div><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/%24s_!gMDS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a669841-2f1d-4a4a-af97-45224dc3fa13_1280x720.png"></a></figure></div><p><a href="https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/what-is-the-thucydides-trap-and-should?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>While Thucydides was writing specifically about the catastrophic war between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BC, his work has endured precisely because it speaks to something larger than a single conflict. He discusses the battles and speeches, sure, but also explores the ideas of ambition, insecurity, pride, and the fragile psychology of nations.</p><p>Indeed, more than two millennia later, world leaders and political theorists still turn to his insights when trying to understand tensions between modern superpowers...</p><p>But let’s return to the exact conflict Thucydides was recording.</p><p>The 27-year Peloponnesian War erupted in 431 BCE after Athens transformed itself from a victorious city-state into an imperial maritime power. Flush with wealth, naval dominance, and cultural confidence, Athens expanded aggressively throughout the Aegean.</p><p>Sparta, meanwhile, had long been the dominant military force in Greece. Conservative, land-based, and deeply wary of change, Sparta increasingly viewed Athenian growth not merely as competition, but as an existential threat...This is what was at the heart of the ‘trap’.</p><p>What makes Thucydides so compelling is that he does not reduce war to simple morality. There are no cartoon villains in his history. Instead, he reveals how even rational actors can stumble toward catastrophe through fear, miscalculation, pride, and mutual suspicion.</p><p>This is one reason his work continues to resonate today.</p><p><strong>War with Words</strong></p><p>One of the most unsettling moments in his history occurs during the civil strife at Corcyra, where political chaos corrodes language itself. Words began to change meaning; violence became virtue and moderation became weakness. Thucydides writes:</p><blockquote><p>“Words had to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which was now given them.”<br>— Thucydides, <em>History of the Peloponnesian War</em>, Book III.82</p></blockquote><p>This certainly feels like something we can relate to today... As culture wars rage, each side employs language as its battlefield.</p><p><a href="https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/what-is-the-thucydides-trap-and-should?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>The enduring power of Thucydides lies not simply in his analysis of war, but in his recognition that civilizations are often undone from within as much as from without. During the plague at Athens, social order collapsed almost overnight. Laws lost authority while citizens abandoned restraint. The idealized image of Athens as democratic, enlightened, and exceptional disintegrated under this crushing pressure.</p><p>Thucydides deliberately juxtaposes Pericles’ glorious Funeral Oration with the chaos of the plague that immediately follows. The contrast is devastating... beneath the rhetoric of greatness lies the fragility of human society itself.</p><blockquote><p>“Men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly careless of everything, whether sacred or profane.”<br>— Thucydides, <em>History of the Peloponnesian War</em>, Book II.52</p></blockquote><p>Thucydides forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves. We like to imagine that history moves steadily toward progress, that technological advancement naturally produces moral advancement...But the Greeks were never so optimistic. They understood that prosperity can breed arrogance, complacency, and instability as easily as wisdom.</p><p>Thucydides himself hints at this darker realism in one of the most famous exchanges in ancient literature, the Melian Dialogue, when the Athenians coldly declare:</p><blockquote><p>“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”<br>— Thucydides, <em>History of the Peloponnesian War</em>, Book V.89</p></blockquote><p>Indeed, one of the great ironies of the Peloponnesian War is that both Athens and Sparta emerged diminished. Athens lost its empire and while Sparta gained temporary dominance, it ultimately exhausted itself as well. The war devastated the Greek world so thoroughly that it paved the way for outside powers, first Macedon, then Rome, to dominate Greece altogether.</p><p>In other words, victory can sometimes resemble defeat.</p><p>This is perhaps the most important lesson of the Thucydides Trap. The danger is not simply that war occurs when powers shift. The greater danger is that fear itself becomes self-fulfilling and Nations begin preparing so intensely for conflict that they make conflict inevitable.</p><div><div><div><p>Learn the lessons from History! Become a Member to enjoy our full podcasts, magazines and more…</p></div><div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div><p></p><p><strong>Thucydides Then, Not Now</strong></p><p>Modern discussions of the Thucydides Trap inevitably circle around the relationship between the United States and China. America has been the dominant global power for decades, while China’s rapid economic and military rise has fundamentally altered the international balance. The parallels to Athens and Sparta are tempting: a confident rising power challenging an anxious established hegemon.</p><p>But history is never quite so tidy....</p><p>While human nature may remain relatively constant, every historical moment contains its own unique institutions, technologies, and political realities, so it doesn’t behoove us to treat Thucydides as a prophetic blueprint. Indeed, the danger of the “Thucydides Trap” framework is that it can oversimplify the complexities of history and encourage fatalistic thinking.</p><p>After all, Athens and Sparta existed in a world without nuclear weapons, international organizations, economic interdependence, or instant communication. Ancient wars were brutal, direct, and personal. Entire cities could be enslaved or annihilated. Modern geopolitical conflict unfolds within vastly more complicated systems.</p><p>Yet despite these differences, the emotional dynamics remain familiar.</p><p>Rising powers still seek recognition...</p><p>Established powers still struggle to adapt...</p><p>Politicians still invoke honor, security, and national destiny...</p><p>And perhaps most importantly...societies still convince themselves that escalation is unavoidable.</p><p>But it is important to remember that history is not destiny...</p><p><a href="https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/what-is-the-thucydides-trap-and-should?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>Thucydides does not offer easy solutions, nor does he promise that humanity will learn from the past. But by studying him, we can recognize recurring patterns and can become more skeptical of political certainty. We understand that civilizations, however advanced, remain vulnerable to the same passions that shaped the ancient world... </p><p>But above all, by considering this ancient war, we gain something immensely valuable: perspective.</p> <p><a href="https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/p/what-is-the-thucydides-trap-and-should" target="_blank">- Enlace a artículo -</a></p> <p>Más info en https://ift.tt/3avK7wr / Tfno. & WA 607725547 Centro MENADEL (Frasco Martín) Psicología Clínica y Tradicional en Mijas. #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional #MijasPueblo</p> <p>*No suscribimos necesariamente las opiniones o artículos aquí compartidos. No todo es lo que parece.</p>

Am I Not Your Lord?

<div><div><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qpt5Cv6Q1l0?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><h3>The Ecstatic Sayings of Ruzbihan Baqli · Sharh-e Shathiyat · Part 3</h3><p><em>The Secret Discourses of the Sufis</em></p><div><hr></div><p>Ruzbihan Baqli has been preparing the reader for this chapter since the first line of the book.</p><div><div><div><p>Spiritualrelief's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div><p>The Muqaddima drowned us in the praise of God beyond all attributes. The first chapter brought the <em>I</em> into the book — Ruzbihan’s own initiatic autobiography, the young man on the road of aspiration, the dialogue with the doorkeeper of the unseen, the moment he became thirsty from the surges of love. He told us why he wrote the book.</p><p>Now, in the second chapter, he tells us how it all began.</p><p>Not the beginning of his life. The beginning of <em>being itself</em>. The chapter is a cosmological poem in prose. It describes the moment a soul wakes out of nothingness, finds itself in existence, and is addressed by the One who brought it forth.</p><p>The chapter is long enough that we will read it in two parts. This is the first half. It ends on the divine question that every soul has been answering since the beginning of time. The second half — Part 4 — will be the spirits’ answer, and what came of it.</p><p>Read it slowly. The Persian register is dense even by Sufi standards. Ruzbihan is doing in prose what Avicenna does in metaphysical argument and what Attar will later do in narrative poetry. He is laying out the architecture of how a contingent being comes to exist, recognize itself, and be addressed.</p><p>What follows is the chapter, in our translation from the Persian, set down with as little commentary as possible.</p><div><hr></div><h3>On the Going-Forth of the Holy Spirits from the Screens of the Acts of Pre-Eternity</h3><h4>By the description of finding the Reality and the Gnosis</h4><p><em>In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful — and to him I turn for help in all matters.</em></p><p>Know — <em>and may God bless your understanding</em> — that the hidden one of the unseen, in the screen of the sightlessness of the acts, if he comes forth from beyond the parapet-tower of the palace of the elements; and if a subtle thing shifts within another subtle thing; and if the soul-without-trace comes into the eye of contemplation, without the surprise of bewilderment, without the sitting-down of imposed effort — then, from the original disposition (which is the strain-of-being-of-the-engendered), it seeks itself out. From the screen of plainness it goes forth into the world of the colorings of the forms of the world of secondary causes. After this elevation it passes — by the rope of the alphabet — through the cunning. By the light of preparedness, perfecting-of-knowledge, it begins to seek: who it itself is, and for the sake of what. Its existence speaks with its existence. Eye comes into eye, hearing into hearing, soul into soul, without the rulings of the intellect, in the cloud of the indefinite. It sees itself without foot or head.</p><p>The original subtle-thing is set into motion; it speaks to itself:</p><blockquote><p><em>Who are you?</em></p></blockquote><p>Intellect comes in through the road of evidences. It seats apprehension on the riding-beasts of thoughts and sets it riding through the wilderness of un-gnosis. The truth of the seeking-of-help — which is the engraving of the seal of the original disposition: <em>Be!</em> — seeks the <em>Kāf</em> of <em>Be!</em>. The marriage of the <em>Kāf</em> and the <em>Nūn</em> is consummated in the very act. From the trouble of the rust of the witnessings, the screens of preserved-grace appear from the shoulder of the bow of omnipotence. And this raw bridegroom is bound by the rope of seeking. So that, from the rawness of gnosis, he stays a while in the stable of being, in nurture; and then, traversing the wilderness of nature without bridle, he comes into the meadow of the unseen.</p><div><hr></div><p>This unfinished one, with his head still in the noose of the trial, <em>Sirr al-Sirr</em> whispers in the ear of his head:</p><blockquote><p><em>How long will you remain at the brink of nothingness, facing pre-eternity?</em></p></blockquote><p>The light of the chain of attraction draws him up out of the duration of the duration of his being. This living one, in the labor-pains of measure, suddenly falls into the light of the very-eye of God. When he is rendered forgetful in the witnessings, <em>being</em> says to him: <em>“I am that”</em> — <em>Sirr</em>, knowing the way, gives the answer: <em>“O servant of God!”</em> Intellect, deafened, falls into amazement, saying: <em>“This is my Lord.”</em> The light of the light of the manifestation, from the unseen of the unseen, comes into the eye of this subtle thing. The collyrium of the recognition of the gnoses is drawn from the kohl-stick of the unveilings.</p><p>The subtle-thing speaks to the subtle-thing:</p><blockquote><p><em>Who are you, in the placeless, without the trace of contingents?</em></p></blockquote><p>The soul, having found the perfection of intellect, points-out from the soul-of-the-soul: <em>“He is God.”</em> Then he is illumined in the flashings of the light of pre-eternity. He seeks the Real <em>by the Real</em>, in the pre-eternity of pre-eternities and the everlastingness of everlastingnesses. When he has found what he did not know — after annihilation, he knows from himself.</p><div><hr></div><p>Generation and corruption — in the persistence of the cause of the subtle-thing, and the not-being of nothingness in pre-eternity, where <em>“God was, and there was nothing with him”</em> — flee from the unseen into the unseen, and without a tongue (for years past now, with the scissors of declaring-beyond-attribute, his tongue has been cut away) he gazes with sight into the very-eye of divinity. The shadow of the shadow of the Tuba-tree of the might of seeing veils him in the cloud of the indefinite, so that the cause-of-contingency is effaced in the cause of causes — for <em>other-than</em> is the veil of <em>other-than</em>.</p><p>The pre-eternal passing — to the pre-eternity of the lover — when contingency in contingency was made non-existent, pre-eternity speaks to pre-eternity:</p><blockquote><p><em>The Presence of duration of durations is severed; the engenderings of contingents are dissolved. O Receiver of mercy! Bring forth the children of the cradle of nothingness from the wombs of measure! That, in the open space of his abundance, the bounty of the spirits — in the place of joys, on the wing of everlastingness — may take flight.</em></p></blockquote><p>The very-eye of God, by the majesty of pre-eternity, makes its theophany in the <em>Kāf</em> of the command. The <em>Kāf</em> makes its theophany by the <em>Nūn</em>. In the dressings of the acts, the brides of the lights appear. Without nothingness, with pre-eternal knowledge, with the will of the pre-eternal, the pre-eternal speech speaks: <em>“Be! And it was.”</em></p><div><hr></div><p>The birds of the spirits, without the open-space of time and place, from the abundance of the command, found out the verification of engagement with action. From the secret of the address-to-the-soul, the very root of the soul having found the sweetness of love, they came forth from the wombs of measure such that the trace of <em>being-charactered-by-the-character-of-pre-eternity</em> had been found in them — <em>qualified by the qualities</em>. After this readiness, they said:</p><blockquote><p><em>What is contingency, in pre-eternity? And this bringing-of-the-color-of-duality into oneness without trace, what is it?</em></p></blockquote><p>The tongue of the witness-of-mercy spoke into the ear of gnosis: <em>“I have not created the jinn and mankind except that they should worship me.”</em></p><p>The pre-eternal came in entirety into the world. In the very witnessing of mercy, contingency showed itself; and in the majesty of the Self-Subsisting, the void of being was no terror. Without imagining and without modality, the depth of being made its theophany on being. The command came into the dressing of the attributes. It made the goldsmiths of the command paint upon the inscribed forms of the actions.</p><div><hr></div><p>Without time, without place, in the nothingness-within-nothingness of the effacement-into-pre-eternity — for a hundred thousand veils of the light of light is the <em>very-eye</em> — then, without the passing of time, before the coming of contingents and durations, the trace-imprint of the theophany of pre-eternity upon nothingness appeared. The flint-stones of the descriptions of majesty struck the rocks of the knowledge of will. Without the trace of alteration — by the gentleness of the gentle one of omnipotence — the subtle things of the soul were made into form by the imprint of the seal of attribute. And by the will of the contingent — without cause — joining-up, succession, generation, and alteration — an existing-being came into being.</p><p>A strange contingent it was, and a noble soul, standing-by-the-Real, gone forth from the limit of modality and conjecture. In a non-place it had not yet found a place. In the world of placelessness, it had not seen the strain of the world of nothingness. It had no dwelling in the elements; it had no witnesses in the ages.</p><div><hr></div><p>That newborn one, in the palace of oneness, was disturbed by the theophany of pre-eternity — there was no intellect that could counsel him, no knowledge that could ask his counsel. Without time, he was made into the place-of-time-being-broken; he became the lover of the keeping-company of the soul of every soul. Even in nothingness he saw himself — until they should bring out the city of the command into the world of acts, and weave the silken tents of the kingdom from the actions. The carpets of the attributes paint the very-eye of God upon the circles of the witnessings. They bring forth the plain spirits from the prison of nothingness and hold them in the cages of contingency.</p><p>Suddenly, the seed of <em>not-yet-being</em> is eaten, and the chaff falls upon the soul that has-not-yet-found a robe. The secrets of the spirits, from the cry of yearning at the door of vision, raise their cry:</p><blockquote><p><em>What wine is this without hangover, what spring without a season?</em></p></blockquote><p>The grace of pre-eternity smiles. He lifts up the contingents from the bedclothes of contingents, and from the rawness of the eternities he sets up the bride of oneness. After the autumn of nothingness, the Now-Spring of the beauty of pre-eternity shows its fair face — a Now-Spring in which you find a hundred thousand gardens of the Spring of Omnipotence, and a hundred thousand rose-beds of the majesty of oneness.</p><p>The lily of purity is companion to the jasmine of form. The hyacinth of beauty converses with the rose of majesty. The basil of the holy-attribute on the trees of the Spring of Everlastingness — the rivers of eternity, flowing in the watercourse of pre-eternity — and on those riverbanks the green-things of the attribute have grown. A north-wind of beauty has blown across the seas of perfection. The dawn has arrived in a screen-without-screen. The nightingale of the garden of pre-eternity sits on the branches of the attribute.</p><p>And the voice of the Self-Subsisting, in the song of pre-eternity, calls out:</p><blockquote><p><em>O birds of the spirits! O newcomers from the world of being-without-yet! Where is that witnessing of the very-eye? And what are you doing, grazing in the cage of contingency?</em></p></blockquote><p>From that world of <em>not-being</em> they come into <em>being</em>; until, in the wilderness of oneness, the birds of <em>“I cannot count thy praise”</em> settle. By this surge of bewilderment they took flight, and from the open space of the kingdom they entered the gardens of dominion. From the face beneath the painted veil, they fell into the very-eye of the contemplation of the seekers of pre-eternity.</p><div><hr></div><p>And in the original attribute, from the source of omnipotence, the First Intellect was sent on a mission. He flew on the wing of the light of everlastingness. He went around the garden of pre-eternity. He marked the birds of pre-eternity. This parrot, the king of gnoses, came into the banquet of the unveilings. He drove a hundred thousand beaks into the souls of the spirits. He drew out the very-secret of intimacy from the vein of the soul. Intellect made boast to the soul, and <em>Sirr</em> — <em>with</em> — <em>Sirr</em> made intimate-converse.</p><p>When they were unified, the One-Known-from-pre-eternity, in the dressing of the not-seen, said to the birds of the spirits:</p><div><hr></div><blockquote><p><em>Was it not I who brought you forth — without the shell — into gentleness?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who, before all engendering, was your engenderer?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who, without cause, ordered the spirits from the very First Cause of all causes?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who marked the targets of the soul with the arrow of the attribute?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who, without estrangement in oneness, by myself for myself, was the seeker of you?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who am the Self-Subsisting of pre-eternity, and the Bringer-Forth of unity?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who am the soul of every soul?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who am the strength of every strength?</em></p><p><em>Was it not I who am the majesty in beauty?</em></p><p><em>Pre-eternal, everlasting, the eternity-without-end, the eternity-without-beginning.</em></p><p><em>I am the one whom I know.</em></p><p><em>I make myself known by myself.</em></p><p><em>I am the very root of your faith.</em></p><p><em>The beginning of beginnings — I.</em></p><p><em>The end of ends — I.</em></p><p><em>The one-who-engendered the soul of you, O you-without-you —</em></p><h3><em>Am I not your Lord?</em></h3></blockquote><div><hr></div><h3>End of Part 3</h3><p>The chapter is broken here. The spirits will answer.</p><p>What follows in Part 4 is the answer they gave, what came of it, and the three birds the spirits became. The chapter closes on three lines that the entire Sufi tradition will reference, repeat, and defend for the next thousand years.</p><p>Until then, sit with the question.</p><div><hr></div><p><em>Translated from the Persian by James King for SpiritualRelief, working from Henri Corbin’s critical edition (Bibliothèque Iranienne, Tehran 1981).</em></p><div><div><div><p>Spiritualrelief's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div> <p><a href="https://spiritualrelief.substack.com/p/am-i-not-your-lord" target="_blank">- Enlace a artículo -</a></p> <p>Más info en https://ift.tt/3avK7wr / Tfno. & WA 607725547 Centro MENADEL (Frasco Martín) Psicología Clínica y Tradicional en Mijas. #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional #MijasPueblo</p> <p>*No suscribimos necesariamente las opiniones o artículos aquí compartidos. No todo es lo que parece.</p>

Liberarse del sufrimiento

<img src="https://www.nodualidad.info/imagen/intro/conciencia-libre.jpg" alt="conciencia-libre.jpg"> <br><br>En este artículo, comparto un sencillo proceso de tres pasos para guiar tu atención desde las garras del sufrimiento hacia la paz de tu verdadera naturaleza. Recuerdo que una tarde soleada en California caminaba por la calle. El mundo exterior era radiante y luminoso: palmeras bordeaban calles bañadas por el sol, descapotables con la capota bajada llenos de jóvenes guapísimos y guapísimas con sus tablas de surf y sus esterillas de yoga. Estudiaba desarrollo humano y aprendizaje en Stanford, y mi vida parecía sacada de una postal. Por dentro, mi mente era una pesadilla. En los días buenos... <p><a href="https://www.nodualidad.info/articulos/liberarse-del-sufrimiento.html" target="_blank">- Enlace a artículo -</a></p> <p>Más info en https://ift.tt/3avK7wr / Tfno. & WA 607725547 Centro MENADEL (Frasco Martín) Psicología Clínica y Tradicional en Mijas. #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional #MijasPueblo</p> <p>*No suscribimos necesariamente las opiniones o artículos aquí compartidos. No todo es lo que parece.</p>

Best of Opera — Mozart, Verdi, Bizet | Timeless Classical Masterpieces

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" width="640" height="390" src="https://www.inoreader.com/yt-embed/?v=Sf0hTpEdZIg" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" style="width:100%;aspect-ratio:16/9;height:auto;display:block;border:0;" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p>There's a reason opera has captivated audiences for centuries — it speaks directly to the soul. In this timeless collection, we've gathered some of the most powerful and beautiful arias ever written by three legendary masters: Mozart, Verdi, and Bizet. Each composer brought something unique to the stage. Mozart gave us elegance and wit wrapped in heavenly melodies, Verdi poured raw human emotion into every dramatic note, and Bizet painted vivid worlds full of passion and fire. Together, they shaped opera into the breathtaking art form we cherish today, leaving behind masterpieces that continue to move hearts across generations.<br> <br> 📌𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐩: <a href="https://app.essential-classics.com/">https://app.essential-classics.com/</a><br> <br> <br> 🟢 Follow us and our playlists on Spotify:<br> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/cugate-music?si=2d9adbc210b64a2b">https://open.spotify.com/user/cugate-music?si=2d9adbc210b64a2b</a><br> <br> <br> 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓<br> --------------------<br> 00:00:00 Bizet - Carmen Suite No. 1: III. Intermezzo<br> 00:03:05 Bizet - Carmen Suite No. 1: IV. Séguedille<br> 00:04:50 Bizet - Carmen Suite No. 1: V. Les Dragons d'Alcala<br> 00:06:34 Verdi - La Traviata: Overture<br> 00:10:33 Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin, Op. 24: Introduction<br> 00:13:12 Mozart - Die Zauberflöte, K. 620: Overture<br> 00:16:22 Mozart - Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, Act II: "Ach, ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden" (Pamina)<br> 00:18:56 Mozart - Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, Act I: "Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" (Papageno)<br> 00:21:32 Mozart - Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, Act II: "O Isis und Osiris" (Sarastro)<br> 00:24:44 Mozart - Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, Act II: "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (The Queen of the Night)<br> 00:28:01 Mozart - Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, Act II: "Pa–, pa–, pa–" (Papageno and Papagena)<br> 00:30:44 Verdi - Giovanna d'Arco: Overture<br> 00:33:48 Verdi - Don Carlos, Act I: Prelude "Carlo il sommo Imperatore" (Monks' Chorus)<br> 00:36:10 Verdi - Don Carlos, Act III, Scene 2: Auto-da-fé<br> 00:39:07 Verdi - Don Carlos: Aria of Rodrigo<br> 00:42:54 Verdi - I due Foscari: Overture<br> 00:46:02 Verdi - Il Trovatore: Soldiers' Chorus "Or co' dadi, ma fra poco"<br> 00:48:04 Verdi - La forza del destino: Overture<br> 00:51:20 Verdi - La Traviata, Act I: "Libiam ne' lieti calici"<br> 00:54:33 Verdi - La Traviata, Act II: "Noi siamo zingarelle" (Chor di Zingare)<br> 00:57:22 Tchaikovsky - The Queen of Spades, Op. 68: Introduction<br> 01:01:48 Rossini - The Barber of Seville: Overture<br> 01:04:21 Rossini - The Barber of Seville, Act I: "Largo al factotum della città" (Figaro)<br> 01:07:14 Verdi - La Traviata, Act II: "Noi siamo zingarelle" (Chor di Zingare)<br> 01:10:04 Verdi - Macbeth, Act III: "Tre volte miagola la gatta in fregola" (Witches' Chorus)<br> 01:12:36 Verdi - Macbeth, Act II: "Chi v'impose unirvi a noi?" (Murderers' Chorus)<br> 01:15:24 Verdi - Othello, Act I, Scene 1: "Fuoco di gioia"<br> 01:18:31 Verdi - Othello, Act II, Scene 5: "Era la notte" (Jago and Othello)<br> 01:20:57 Verdi - Othello, Act III, Scene 3: "Dio! Mi potevi scagliar" (Othello)<br> 01:23:34 Verdi - Othello, Act IV, Scene 1: Recitative and Aria "Era più calmo? &amp; Ave Maria piena di grazia"<br> 01:26:42 Verdi - Othello, Act IV, Scene 4: "Niun mi tema" (Othello)<br> 01:29:31 Verdi - Rigoletto, Act I: "Zitti, zitti" (Chorus)<br> 01:31:02 Verdi - Rigoletto, Act II: "Scorrendo uniti remota via" (Chorus)<br> 01:33:19 Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96: Overture<br> 01:35:10 Wagner - Die Walküre, WWV 86B, Act III, Scene 1: "Ride of the Valkyries"<br> 01:38:19 Wagner - Tristan und Isolde, Act I: Prelude<br> 01:41:24 Wagner - Tristan und Isolde, Act III: "Mild und leise wie er lächelt" (Isolde's Liebestod)<br> 01:45:05 Wagner - Tannhäuser, WWV 70: Overture<br> 01:47:57 Mozart - Don Giovanni, K. 527: "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" (Leporello)<br> 01:50:11 Mozart - Don Giovanni, K. 527: "Vedrai, carino" (Zerlina)<br> 01:53:02 Mozart - Don Giovanni, K. 527: "Là ci darem la mano" (Zerlina and Don Giovanni)<br> 01:56:49 Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Overture<br> 01:59:45 Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492, Act II: "Voi che sapete che cosa è amor" (Cherubino)<br> 02:02:43 Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Duet: Susanna and Figaro<br> 02:05:35 Mozart - The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384: Overture<br> <br> <br> Performers<br> ----------------------<br> 1)Orchestra New Philharmony Saint Petersburg<br> 2)Saint Petersburg Musical Theatre Zazerkalye Chamber Orchestra<br> 3)Saint Petersburg Orchestra of the State Hermitage Museum Camerata<br> 4)Saint Petersburg Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra<br> 5)Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra<br> 6)Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra<br> <br> <br> 📧 <a href="mailto:info@cugate.com">info@cugate.com</a><br> 🌐 <a href="http://www.cugate.com">www.cugate.com</a><br> <br> 🎧 Essential Classics is dedicated to sharing and promoting classical music. We strive to present the best classical music for you! Our hope is to make your days more beautiful and peaceful with classical music. <br> <br> All audio and visual content on Essential Classics is created by Cugate AG a well-known music company. We have all legal rights of the audiovisual materials used in this video and our music is protected by copyright laws. If you have any questions regarding copyright or cooperation, please contact us.<br> <br> #ClassicalMusic #Adagios #ClassicalAdagios #Mozart #rachmaninov</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf0hTpEdZIg" target="_blank">- Enlace a artículo -</a></p> <p>Más info en https://ift.tt/3avK7wr / Tfno. & WA 607725547 Centro MENADEL (Frasco Martín) Psicología Clínica y Tradicional en Mijas. #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional #MijasPueblo</p> <p>*No suscribimos necesariamente las opiniones o artículos aquí compartidos. No todo es lo que parece.</p>

Feliz Eid el Adha 2026

<p>Eid Al Adha comenzará el miércoles 27 de mayo, confirmaron las autoridades de los EAU el domingo. Esto ocurre después de que la luna creciente que anuncia el comienzo de Dhu Al Hijja, el duodécimo y último mes del calendario islámico, se observara en los Emiratos el domingo por la noche. Significa que Dhu Al […]</p> <p>La entrada <a href="https://www.verislam.com/feliz-eid-el-adha-2026/">Feliz Eid el Adha 2026</a> se publicó primero en <a href="https://www.verislam.com">VERISLAM</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.verislam.com/feliz-eid-el-adha-2026/" target="_blank">- Enlace a artículo -</a></p> <p>Más info en https://ift.tt/3avK7wr / Tfno. & WA 607725547 Centro MENADEL (Frasco Martín) Psicología Clínica y Tradicional en Mijas. #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional #MijasPueblo</p> <p>*No suscribimos necesariamente las opiniones o artículos aquí compartidos. No todo es lo que parece.</p>

«El primer principio de la democracia... es que nadie conoce la verdad final sobre nada» (W. H. Auden). «Porque hay un rencor que desdeña la inmortalidad, y no quiere dejarnos reconocer lo que es divino en nosotros» (Asclepios). menadelpsicologia.com #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional

via Menadel Psicología Clínica y Tradicional https://ift.tt/JXoSqsz

Semana 17 de mayo: Para caer en la cuenta…

…y ver más allá. Porque la realidad no es lo que parece. <p><a href="https://www.enriquemartinezlozano.com/semana-17-de-mayo-para-caer-en-la-cuenta/" target="_blank">- Enlace a artículo -</a></p> <p>Más info en https://ift.tt/i6bdsfz / Tfno. & WA 607725547 Centro MENADEL (Frasco Martín) Psicología Clínica y Tradicional en Mijas. #Menadel #Psicología #Clínica #Tradicional #MijasPueblo</p> <p>*No suscribimos necesariamente las opiniones o artículos aquí compartidos. No todo es lo que parece.</p>