The Art of Expression

 THE ART OF EXPRESSION

By Dimitris Karalis

There is no essential difference in material composition between a precious gem and a common stone. For instance, carbon exists in both coal and diamonds, differing only in the arrangement of their molecules, namely crystallization.

However, how vast is the difference between them in aesthetic beauty and commercial value? The pearl and the seashell also share the same structural composition, yet the pearl surpasses in delicate craftsmanship and aesthetic reflection. We observe a similar phenomenon in people. Two individuals may possess the same words and ideas to express themselves, yet one creates literature while the other mere commonplaces.

What is the reason for this expressive distinction? It lies in the refinement and presentation of their thoughts. One weaves their speech more closely and meticulously than the other. They elevate, refine, and deepen their ideas, composing the melody of their lexicon with the rhythm of an Aeolian harp. Such musically-adorned literature provides joy, knowledge, and inspiration to the developing reader. Profound literature is an inexhaustible source of knowledge and inspiration for evolving humanity.

Perusing such literary creations, like Plutarch's "Biographies" and "Ethics," we feel psychically rejuvenated, reading into the depths of his literary treasury. Each word is laden with divine mystery, causing our souls to float ecstatically, as if we were in the temple of Demeter. We revive the sacred splendor of the Eleusinian mysteries as if we, too, had experienced them in practice.

"Real literature is not written for egocentric self-promotion but to love and be loved," says Goethe. The profound writer does not leave the reader where they initially found them but inspires and elevates them to a higher intellectual platform. This is the ultimate purpose of every true artist. "Do not read whatever books you come across," says Shakespeare, "for when they do not appeal to your soul, you waste your time without gaining anything."

Every book written with a spiritual essence is immediately recognized, merely by reading a few lines on any page. There are three types of books, akin to our food:

1. Those we taste a little and immediately spit out as unsuitable nourishment (we discard them as we read).

2. Those we consume with pleasure but that do not nourish us (develop us) at all.

3. And those that require thorough chewing (careful reading) to extract their nourishing substances (knowledge) correctly.

By studying the "Divine Providence" of the Neoplatonist Synesius, we feel its spiritual truth becoming our own possession. Each word carries divine mystery, causing our souls to float ecstatically, as if we were in the temple of Demeter. We revive the sacred splendor of the Eleusinian mysteries, as if we had experienced them ourselves.

"The supreme purpose of profound literature is to offer vision, knowledge, and inspiration to the reader. Without spiritual truth as the helmsman of our expression, the soul refuses to participate in our literary journey.

This is precisely where the difference lies between animate and inanimate literature. From within, one enriches their lexicon with nectar to sweeten their thoughts.

"Do not publish this letter of mine," Nikos Kazantzakis requested from his friend and editor, Pantelis Prevelakis, "because I did not infuse it with soul. This sometimes happens to certain writers when they hastily write without spiritual coherence. A single wrong word disrupts the literary rhythm of our soul. Like an unskilled musician playing a false note in an orchestra, they are immediately interrupted by their maestro to correct the lyrical harmony. Who then writes literature, we or some other force?

Could it be that we become channels of an invisible source to convey its message to the expected humanity? How does one develop to write deeper literature? The question arises. Here are the pieces of advice given to us by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"If, by chance, divine providence calls upon any of you to explore its truth and beauty, you must be bold and faithful to its call. If you think to do as others have done, saying, 'Ah, I'll do the same as they did,' I am sorry for my initial dreams, but I want to first taste and celebrate the best that the earth and society offer. Therefore, I temporarily abandon all my intellectual romanticism for a more opportune time later.

Ah...! That is precisely when, my friend, the spiritual human inside you begins to die. At the same time, the buds of invention, science, poetry, philosophy, and fine arts start to wither and perish, just as they did in billions of your fellow humans before. This sacred moment of election is the most critical in your life, and you must steadfastly adhere to the intellectual calling that divine providence has sent you. Bow to the persuasion that enters through every point of nature within you, to become the communicative language in the hearts and souls of the world.

Be generously patient with the slow and foolish humanity, demonstrating how just the passage of divine wisdom is. Be content with the little light you have gained, for it shall be wholly yours. Explore and keep exploring ceaselessly. Do not dogmatize about what you have gained, nor accept any other extrinsic dogmas. Be vigilant against your egocentric temptation, as it misleads the mind with the soul and delays your spiritual cultivation. Spiritual truth also offers bread, bed, clothing, shelter, and ineffable happiness when you follow it faithfully and steadfastly. First, be useful to society, and it, in turn, will wholeheartedly care for your daily life.

Do not worry that society will never recognize or appreciate your thoughts. You know well that just as the sun and the moon cannot easily hide from the eyes of the world, the same happens with philosophical truth. Every pioneering thought is filled with spiritual light and is automatically revealed to the world. It manifests itself automatically, flowing with every word, glance, and movement you make, and it attracts sincere friendship like a magnet.

Humanity will warmly embrace your thoughts and reward you with the best it has in life. By faithfully following your intellectual calling, you become simultaneously the most beloved person on earth and among the Elysian children. Seek and actively live the truth within you, and all else will come of its own accord.

What is Strength

 "What is Strength”

By Dr Dimitri Karalis

Observing a tall young man with long and strong arms in the ancient marketplace gym, a friend of Isocrates expressed his admiration. 'Ah! This is someone who could become an ideal boxer with a little training,' he said. 'I agree,' Isocrates replied, 'but only when the wreath of victory is hanging very low and can only be won with a delicate touch.' In nature, we see that the towering and strong trees cannot withstand fierce storms as well as smaller shrubs. They are uprooted and damaged more easily many times.

The strongest wood in nature that does not break so easily is a shrubby tree called 'krania,' which bears its tasty fruits at the beginning of winter. It is highly sought after for the construction of shepherds' staffs but also serves as a reliable defensive tool when circumstances require.

In the realm of insects, we see the tiny and repugnant louse being the smallest and most detestable parasite in nature, yet it disrupts entire societies with its colonial skilfulness.

Excessive weight, as the renowned German doctor Louis Kuhne states, is not a sign of strength but a serious and dangerous metabolic disease. Although an overweight body may appear stronger than a thin one, it can never withstand illness and hard labour as effectively. The robustness of a finely crafted human body is flexible like a willow tree and tenacious like a beautiful cypress.

The impressive strength of an enormously bulky wrestler or boxer is partially due to the Earth's gravitational pull on each of them. Outside the Earth, in space where there is no gravity, mass does not function as a force. Even if an elephant were to collide with a tiny flea up there, it would neither feel pain nor shed blood. We use the term "weight" to denote the property of gravity reflecting on every mass, but it never represents the inner strength.

So, what is strength then? It surely isn't about volume or the result of excessive eating and excessive exercise, as all these consume nervous energy for movement, digestion, and exertion, especially when abused.

"Every gram of food consumed more than our body needs for metabolism signifies a loss of nervous energy and metabolic abnormalities as a consequence. If we remove this surplus food and replace it with more creative work in its place, then we will benefit twofold in health and in our pockets simultaneously. Strength is not generated with a full stomach or extensive exercise, but it is regenerated during sleep through the revitalization of the organism and the restoration of perfect blood circulation.

Fatigue never indicates the need for food but always for sleep. Every night, we renew our strength in the bedroom, not at the dining table.

Our ancient ancestors used to say that excessive food not only wastes money and precious time but also destroys our health simultaneously. Laziness originates from these abuses and especially from gluttonous habits. We observe enthusiastic and fanatic athletes spending a lot of time in gyms to become strong, they say.

Of course, they eat a lot when they exercise a lot, but what is the benefit? With less exercise and moderate food, they achieve the same goal faster and healthier—saving money, strength, fatigue, and nervous reserves at the same time."

We know from experience that when the muscles of the body are excessively developed, the mind usually remains underdeveloped. We never encounter individuals with overly bulging arms to be intellectually admirable. Usually, they behave aggressively, roughly, and earn their living as personal bodyguards or in various physical professions. It is even said that when the muscles of our ancient ancestors started excessively bulging, they lost their brilliant civilization simultaneously. They apparently violated their sacred maxim 'Mēdén Agan' (Nothing in Excess) and may have been influenced by the rough and intellectually indifferent Roman conquerors.

The ability of a person to perform well in their actions comes from four aspects:

1. The heart,

2. The lungs,

3. The mind, and

4. The soul. The soul does not need any food at all. The mind requires very little, And the heart, with the lungs, so little that it does not need special emphasis. Physical strength comes from perfect breathing. Intellectual strength comes from a clear mind, and spiritual strength comes from an unimpeded fearless soul.

Man is a tremendous electric force and does not need many coals like a steam engine to move, as it generates greater power and endurance when consuming less and purer food.

We need a clear mind, steady nerves, an elastic body, and mental courage to be whole as human beings. None of the above natural gifts should be absent if we want to succeed in life. One cannot think deeply and waste their strength on time-consuming digestion and various pleasurable abuses simultaneously. The economy of nervous reserves is more necessary than financial savings.

The deceptive illusion of feeling slightly stronger after eating and from other stimulating practices comes from the acceleration of blood circulation to expel the excess and unnatural food. It becomes, in short, a necessary waste of nervous energy to eliminate the unwanted and dangerous invader in the body (especially with alcoholic drinks). These are the reasons that lead many unhappy people into habits of gluttony, alcoholism, drug addiction, various stimulating narcotics, laziness, bankruptcy, and ultimately into prison and death.

Orthodox Medicine, I believe, has a sacred duty to enlighten humanity further to free it from the tremendous risk of its hygiene collapsing. The fact that Preventive Medicine is more effective as a therapy and less costly than pharmacology is indisputable. The medical profession should be a service to humanity, not a commerce, keeping the world away from the enlightenment of hygiene.

WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY

WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality is a man’s permeability with the inflow and outflow of the deific. It is the capacity of an incarnate SOUL to do two things; first to isolate from sense-elements and become stored with primal pulse of Omnipotence (God); then to infuse thus charge whatever into or whoever it touches.  Not theological at all, you see –not necessarily human. Any being is spiritual whose perceptions are all open heavenward and whose faculties are equally open earthward. Brain and body must be still while SOUL receives its enduement (eternal nourishing);   then must brain and body rouse every atom for the materializing of the message. A dormant faculty in the brain; a dead fiber in the body; a thought of failure in the mind; a feeling of constraint in the heart; a stoppage anywhere slight , will make a man less spiritual by so much. It is a moral impossibility for a lazy man to be spiritual. Perhaps this explains why so few (or better none) clergymen are spiritual.

How to become spiritual? Here is the answer. BY LONG FASTING AND MEDITATION (supervised if possible). Fast until the heart becomes light and the SOUL radiantly happy with angels wooing you from a distance -Symphonies that no ear can sense- visions that no eye can bear-eternities of glory no mortal can attain- rapturous blending with the spiritual source of worlds,  stars, and solar systems.

IS THIS NOT WORTH MORE THAN A MORSEL OF FOOD ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE?

BORROWING FOR KNOWLEGE

  BORROWING FOR KNOWLEGE 

                     By Dr. Dimitri Karalis.

If we carefully observe the parasitic insects and other microscopic beetles in nature, we realise that all borrow food from bigger creatures for their nourishment and growth. Fleas, lice, mosquitoes, ticks, leeches and many others, suck blood where and whenever it is given occasion. The same phenomenon continues also in the vegetable kingdom; Convolvulus, Ivy, beans, tomato and lots of other creepers, need external support for their growth and survival.

In bookshops and libraries we observe humans doing similar things. All search patiently among old and new pages to abstract new ideas for their intellectual growth.  Every free intellectual thinker becomes a torchbearer in the stride for spiritual freedom. We all borrow something from somewhere to re-synthesize it afterwards to our likeness. Like the honey bee that sucks only flower water and synthesises it into sweetest nectar in their hive later.

“This is our supreme aim, said the writer Nikos Kazantzakis, to shoulder our ancestor’s heritage renewable and better forwards forever”. It is not enough to reproduce our race forward like in lower animals, but also to progress it intellectually and spiritually forwards.

“He who borrows from a similar thinker, said Burke, he doubles his own and he who borrows from his superior, rise intellectually to level with his lender”. Knowledge is free for everyone, only it requires an awakened perception and a ceaseless yearning to be harvested.  Nothing is completely new, but they are rekindled coals from the forgotten past. Every new idea is a renewable old copy of continuation. Like the primitive wooden plough that developed slowly into mechanical tractor today.  All of us carry some ancestral idea and it is our sacred duty to pass it, updated to future generations.

 

When we read Plato, we discover the thoughts of previous philosophers, Heraclitos, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras and Socrates, much riper for better digestion.  When we read the Christian bible, we see the platonic theory reformatted into religious dogma. When we read thinkers like Rabelais and Montainge, we discover the charming thoughts of the biographer Plutarch. The strong borrow bravely and dress it with their personal colour for future consumption. Progress, means, to re-synthesize the past with the present and to forward it bettered for the future generations that follow. Every   judicious thinker carries with him a private library, and when we read their chiselled thoughts, we ask ourselves with admiration, “I wonder which worthy books ripened their mental cells so profoundly?” Like when we look at the temple Parthenon and wish to meet its architects, Kallikratis, Ictinos and Phidias.

 

“Libra thesaurus anima” said the Romans, “books are treasures of the soul”. Without books today, mankind would be undeveloped almost in a primitive state. Books are the mental archives for every human to learn and add something new of his own. If Heaven has no books at all, not every thinker wishes happily to inhabit there.  What business has the bee in the deadly dessert?  When the sterile sand doesn’t offer a drop of flower-water to convert into delicious honey?

 

Reading offers mental wealth, writing, literal precision and speech expressive readiness.

We read to learn, we write to precise and we talk to express.

We are valuated how we think; we appreciated what good we have written and loved how eloquently we speak.  When we open our mouth we reveal at the same time our intellectual level.

Once a senseless flatterer talking to Aristotle, stopped suddenly when he observed the apathy into philosopher’s face, sorry; master, he said, it seems that my longish speech has tired you a little, by no means, answered Aristotle, I wasn’t listening to your speech.    

 

Isn’t our mental ripeness a dignified virtue and best intellectual nourishment to better humanity?

-      Hermanus-South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLATO AND CIVILISATION

PLATO AND CIVILISATION

If ever God descended on earth to talk to human beings, surely he will speak like Plato. No other language will suit Him so well, in order to touch the mind, heart and soul of human beings. By reading his celestial dialogues, one rather feels that God incarnated as Plato, in order to distribute knowledge, wisdom and love to humanity. His thoughts are so profound and perfectly chiselled, that no one as yet, managed to add even one iota onto his celestial writings.

Hoping not to exaggerate, I want to voice, like the fanatical Islamite Omar for his Koran, "Burn the voluminous libraries, they are unnecessary, since their true values are all in Plato's writings". Whatever one wants to know, he will find it always in his books. Philosophy, physics, metaphysics, immortality, sociology, cosmogony, language, politics, mathematics, justice, pedagogy, literature, astronomy, rhetoric, civil constitution, hygiene, athletics, pure love and whatever else.

Plato's book "The Republic" will suffice to educate the world", said Emerson, no other schooling is necessary.

Without Plato's thoughts, we would surely all look like the young infants, who scream and kick their little legs, until they learn to speak the mother's tongue, and say what they want in order to calm themselves.

Plato means philosophy and philosophy means Plato. He is the father and teacher of man's reason, and without him, societies of today would not be far better than the lower animal kingdom. He established the first organised school on earth, and until today, 25 centuries later, schoolbells ring in every city and village around the globe.

He consumed, like a silkworm, the undefined and unripe thoughts of ancient Greece, Egypt, Babylonia and Asia, in order to synthesise and deliver them in a more defined and perfect way to Hellenes, and other European nations. Barbarians and savages of the world became calmer psychosomatically by suckling Plato's mental ambrosia for 2500 years. Philosophers, mystics, poets, prose writers, language teachers, rhetoric's, astronomers, cosmogonist, pedagogues and dogmatic worshipers, all ran and will still run forever into the mystery, that is named Plato.

Many borrowed his intellectual ladder to climb a little higher, in order to gaze at their soul's loftiest wonder.

Christians have Platonise in their creed; Hebrews have crypto-imitate him, and Muslims copied Plato's morals, almost identically in their little book on ethics "Ahlak-y-jalaly"

Poets and profound sheers like: Amonios, Plotinus, Plutarch, Milton, Dante, Shakespeare, Thomas Taylor, Voltaire, Hugo, Bacon, John Smith, Ralph Cudworth, Carlyle, Emerson, and a thousand others, where all Platonic offspring.

Although Aristotle tried to oppose Plato's thoughts for a while initially, he failed to do so. He too, Platonise in every feather -writing word until the last day of his life.

It is impossible for one to think any further without Plato's help. He is like a large hairy-handed father, who holds his child tenderly by his hairless hand, to lead him to his first day of primary school.

He was born around 427 B.C, near Pericles, where one of the worlds most known ancient political leaders died. He lived in the glory days of tragedian play-writers - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, and witnessed the catastrophic side effects of the Peloponnesian war. In spite of his rich and aristocratic upbringing, he refused to follow a materialistic road of plenty and egocentric vanity. He chose instead, the path of temperance and moderate poverty, in order to harvest later, his brilliant intellectual and spiritual glory.

At the tender age of 20, he met the mighty Socrates whom he followed until his death. After the inhuman execution of his beloved teacher, he devoted the rest of his life to talk only about him.

He travelled extensively to the "magna Grecia" of Sicily and visited Egypt and Babylonia, they say that he went even further. Returning to Athens, he opened the first university in the world in 368 B.C, which he named "Academia" after the well know Greek athlete Academos. It was an open aired school among pine trees and olive groves where Aristotle's would imitate him later with his Lyceum school on the banks of the Illissos River.

Students from all over the world would arrive thirsty to study at Plato's Philosophical school, but only those who were initiated into his Platonic's ideas were allowed to enter. On the front of his school gate, you could read from a distance the large inscriptive banner in Pendelic marble.

"No entrance to none initiated" He always lectured verbally by conversing with his students like a gentle loving father. Although he never believed in written teaching method, he wrote many books to pass his time.. He called his dialectic writings "pagali paidia", which means, pleasant game or noble amusement. He believed like the mathematician Pythagoras, that the true intellectual system of the universe is mathematically rapt and a difficult one to understand well, without some basic knowledge of geometry. For this reason a second sign-board at his School was written: "Ignorant in geometry should not enter here".

He absorbed the Hellenic forerunning thinkers like, Homer, Thales, Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Philolaos, Parmenides, Empedocles and Xenophanes, in his mental mill. He re-synthesized them all and reproduced them tastier and more digestible for the Hellenes and the rest of the worlds understanding. Unfortunately they did not have the convenience in those days, like today, of recording lectures for storage, but his feather pen written dialogues, are good enough to make our souls dance like hedgehogs when we read them.

When I read his book "Last days of Socrates" at the tender age of 25 , not only could I not sleep that night, but I also wept like a child and felt very pleased at my new discovery. A spiritual awakening had taken place inside me, like a "purgatory" (cleansing fire) that cleansed my soul like the wheat kernels from other harmful weeds. I did not know to whom I must be grateful first, Plato's wonderful brain or to Socrates' mighty wisdom. They were both so God like, that I could not distinguish where the one ended and the other one began. It is impossible for one to remain the same after reading Plato's thoughts. They are like rare remedies that harness our five senses to obey human reason.

Plato awakens in us the love of learning and our endless spiritual enfoldment. A new and common world opens for all who have been touched by Plato's magnanimity, leaving behind all ignorance and darkness that made us walk blindly like the sleepwalkers in the midnight hours.

He united the European brotherhood intellectually and inspired the rest of the world to follow him. He made all of them feel that he was their compatriot. The English said with admiring voices: 'A! How English are these Platonic writings! The Normans, Teutonic's, Slavs, Scandinavians, Latinos, Asians, Africans and all the rest of our global dwellers to own him as well.

All great souls who are surpassing their national borders, become citizen of the universe or cosmos, and called 'cosmocrats', which means, citizens of the universal beauty. Souls as Plato's are cognate with the bright sun that is welcomed immensely and loved wherever its warm shining rays touch. We are all grateful to the mighty Zeus, who descended to earth in the form of Plato, to ignite brilliantly the journey of our souls, to higher planes. Scholars from all over the world translated and will keep on translating Plato's writings, like the Lord's Prayer. They wish to learn Plato's original spoken language, to feel a little closer to his celestial thinking genius.

Plato's wisdom is the only one in the universe that lifts higher the human intellect, to be free, and spiritually upright.

His creator wasn't a watchful sky-dweller, but earthly collaborator with heart and intellect. God's height for him was never surpassed the peaks of mount Olympus.

Freedom of the Soul, (salvation) was exclusively an intellectual issue, and never one of a faith, prayer and confession. "Man is the measure of everything" used to voice-out the sophist Protagoras.

He asserted like Socrates, that he knew nothing personally, and that he was learning by conversing with others. The real knowledge, he said, does not derive from to much schooling, but can only be discovered within ourselves through mutual conversation. Wisdom is all in the soul, he said, and can be resurfaced by remembering. What is the first step then in discovering this knowledgeable journey?

The mind should control and direct the wild passions and sentiments first, like the charioteer does with his horses by controlling them through discipline, to arrive safely and on time at his destination.

I have searched for more information about Plato's life, but unfortunately, I did not find much. It seems that great men have an unusually short biography. No one entered his house, to tell us more about his private life. If he had a wife, friends, girlfriends, weaknesses or other personal peculiarities, we know nothing of it.

All of his private time was converted to contemplation, wisdom and spirituality, like the well-built chimney where the fire burns well and smokeless, to avoid polluting the earthly atmosphere.

They say that he did not smile easily, or hardly ever. He was not far wrong I think, since uncontrolled laughter sometimes can be a sign of a psychosomatic disease and mental anomaly. Schizophrenic or mentally effected people, usually roar with laughter without any reason what so ever.

All anecdotes, said Aristotle, are half finished truths without danger, if they end in danger they become tragedies. Plato never loved superfluity and unfinished truths, they did not produce him laughter, but rather sorrow for its plight.

How did Plato's intellectual flame remains non-extinguishable for so many centuries, in spite of being fiercely persecuted frequently from the religious fundamentalist?

They say, that never has never been more than a hand full of people in every country, who read and understand Plato's writings well; Certainly not enough reading -force to support a new edition to be published regularly. Despite this, Plato's books have been republished almost yearly around the globe. Here we see clearly, that some higher cosmic power takes care and regulates Plato's spirit to flow uninterrupted on this planet. Like the oxygen in our atmosphere that must be constantly regenerated to support life on this globe; so too with Plato's voice, will his work be republished inexhaustibly, as necessary spiritual food for mankind.

Whatever advances or changes our future brings, even if the earthly axis changes its place or the sky cracks in the middle, Plato will never vanish from our planet.

He will remain like an irreplaceable torch, throughout the ages, to light the mental and spiritual journey of humanity. His books will survive like heavenly heritage, revealing to each of us, how high we can reach, if we choose, and follow the right path in our own life's journey.

Dimitri Karalis

FASTING

                                        FASTING

There is no better way for a diseased and prematurely aged body to be restored back to robust health and youthfulness, than through a correct fasting vehicle. A complete supervised fast assisted by an experienced doctor is the safest, quickest and surest way for all physical and mental sufferers. It restores not only the precious human health, but also opens new horizons for mental and spiritual possibilities that were never dreamt of before. A new lease of life is derived from it, like being reborn again.

Body, mind and soul become so serene and harmonious together that one feels so peaceful and confident as if sitting in the lap of God. No matter how sick you are, nature always wants to assist you if you give her a chance. Health, beauty, power, success, courage, freedom, peace, inspiration, spirituality and love are all yours after a successful fast.

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Why don’t you give this natural and absolutely safe method a chance to help you? What do you lose by cleaning the blood, body, skin, mind, and soul and renewing your inner organs like that of an infant? Whatever your physical, mental and financial problems are at this moment, don’t despair. There is definitely a better solution for you than to suffer daily with pain, depression, worry, insomnia and sorrow. Try to find genuine information on the fasting cure method, or even better approach a qualified well known experienced doctor who can guide you safely to supreme health again.

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You should not fast alone, unless you are familiar with the method and persist wisely until your natural hunger returns again. It is hard and very dangerous to break a long fast without the correct supervision. Remember, if a complete fast cannot cure your problem, nothing else ever will.