Regarding yesterdays post, I wanted to say that I actually havent held a bible in my hand since I was in Dallas and I used the one in the hotel to hide some of my spare Canadian cash somewhere in Genesis.
I suppose dreaming of biblical quotes would make more sense if I was religiously inclined.
Im not.
Sure, I was brought up in a devoutly religious household (well, at least Mom was, the rest of us just slumped along behind her every Sunday to church.) I hated church. By the time I turned 14 though, she allowed me to make my choice:
youve been given an understanding of church now, and from now on its going to be your own decision as to whether or not you want to go she said, probably hoping that I would take that as an opportunity to delve further into the study.
Next Sunday, I was off playing street hockey with my friends when I saw her and dad drive by in the impala. All dressed up and smelling of powder.
No, sorry, I think Jesus definitely existed, but I also believe he would blow a fuckin nut if he returned today and saw what the Christians had made of him.
Hed be all like WHOOAA! NO NO NO NO NO! Thats NOT what I said! and hed quickly make his leave.
Im not so vain to assume that this is all there is, there is a hell of a lot more going on out there than we can see, but the need to simplify it down to saying that theres some big dude sitting on a white throne up there in the clouds that looks like an old man with a beard ?... leave that for the chimps from 2001 a space odyssey. Its oversimplification geared towards the terrified and ignorant, and I am not a Christian. (No offence to any Christians, course).
I like the 10 commandments, I think people should live like that. But if you are some heathen tribesman in some small pacific island that has never heard of jesus and you happen to worship a 4 headed blowfish carved out of coconuts, but in actuality live your life perfectly akin to the 10 commandments, I dont think you need to be saved. There are chances that you live your life more true to god than most Christians do, so good on ya.
No, Im not religious.
Spiritual? Hell ya. So when things like having a dream that simply says pomegranates in the bible happen, its strange enough and I respect it enough to try to figure out what was going on with it.
Well, I hit a few sites last night trying to find a quote from the bible that would jump out at me, trying to find anything regarding pomegranates that would ring a far away bell when I read the words. Didnt happen.
I could only find mention of it a few times in Exodus, mostly used as decoration on a robe, and then a very bleak one in Joel:
Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
12The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree--
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men
That didnt really ring anything with me. This dream wasnt a bleak feeling, and I am not feeling bleak. Perhaps I was for a while, but Im certainly not anymore. No that couldnt be it.
Then I started thinking about psychological possibilities of my subconscious actually remembering passages that I was forced to read when I was around 7 years old. I dont know if 30 years of life since then would completely blot that out, but if that was a possibility, I should search the Good News Bible because that was the one I had as a kid. It was all easy reading English, and maybe I actually did remember something.?
A search for pomegranate in the Good new bible came up with this, again from the Song of Solomon:
7:1 What a magnificent young woman you are! How beautiful are your feet in sandals. The curve of your thighs is like the work of an artist.
7:2 A bowl is there, that never runs out of spiced wine. A sheaf of wheat is there, surrounded by lilies.
7:3 Your breasts are like twin deer, like two gazelles.
7:4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in the city of Heshbon, near the gate of that great city. Your nose is as lovely as the tower of Lebanon that stands guard at Damascus.
7:5 Your head is held high like Mount Carmel. Your braided hair shines like the finest satin; its beauty could hold a king captive.
7:6 How pretty you are, how beautiful; how complete the delights of your love.
7:7 You are as graceful as a palm tree, and your breasts are clusters of dates.
7:8 I will climb the palm tree and pick its fruit. To me your breasts are like bunches of grapes, your breath like the fragrance of apples,
7:9 and your mouth like the finest wine. Then let the wine flow straight to my lover, flowing over his lips and teeth.
7:10 I belong to my lover, and he desires me.
7:11 Come, darling, let's go out to the countryside and spend the night in the villages.
7:12 We will get up early and look at the vines to see whether they've started to grow, whether the blossoms are opening and the pomegranate trees are in bloom. There I will give you my love.
7:13 You can smell the scent of mandrakes, and all the pleasant fruits are near our door. Darling, I have kept for you the old delights and the new.
(Wow, bible porn. I bet nobody has heard a pickup line like any of THAT before. Hmmm perhaps Ill try one of those next time the opportunity presents itself.)
Well, this doesnt make much sense to me either, however when I think of the emotional strength of that dream, the happiness, the togetherness, the Love, its the only one that seems to fit, but I deny it. I dont want her back. I certainly wish things were different, and I wish she could have understood my definition of Love, but I am not dreaming of our wedding.
Perhaps its simply her wedding. A change, an exodus, a fresh love. Perhaps the pomegranate was simply a symbol, and not specifically pointed to any one quote
In the Greek myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades, lord of the underworld, the pomegranate represents life, regeneration, and marriage.
Judaism
Pomegranate seeds are said to number 613 one for each of the Bible's 613 commandments.6 The pomegranate was revered for the beauty of its shrub, flowers, and fruit symbolising sanctity, fertility, and abundance.7 The Song of Solomon compares the cheeks of a bride behind her veil to the two halves of a pomegranate
Buddhism
Along with the citrus and the peach, the pomegranate is one of the three blessed fruits. In Buddhist art the fruit represents the essence of favourable influences.9 In Buddhist legend the demoness Hariti, who devoured children, was cured of her evil habit by the Buddha, who gave her a pomegranate to eat. She is depicted in Buddhist art holding a child. In Japan she is known as Kishimojin and is invoked by infertile women.10
In China the pomegranate is widely represented in ceramic art symbolising fertility, abundance, posterity, numerous and virtuous offspring, and a blessed future.11 A picture of a ripe open pomegranate is a popular wedding present.
Islam
The heavenly paradise of the Koran describes four gardens with shade, springs, and fruits including the pomegranate. Legend holds that each pomegranate contains one seed that has come down from paradise.5 Pomegranates have had a special role as a fertility symbol in weddings among the Bedouins of the Middle East.14 A fine specimen is secured and split open by the groom as he and his bride open the flap of their tent or enter the door of their house. Abundant seeds ensure that the couple who eat it will have many children
Who knows.
Change, fertility, love, .. I dont have any idea what it means.
Maybe I was just hungry.
I suppose dreaming of biblical quotes would make more sense if I was religiously inclined.
Im not.
Sure, I was brought up in a devoutly religious household (well, at least Mom was, the rest of us just slumped along behind her every Sunday to church.) I hated church. By the time I turned 14 though, she allowed me to make my choice:
youve been given an understanding of church now, and from now on its going to be your own decision as to whether or not you want to go she said, probably hoping that I would take that as an opportunity to delve further into the study.
Next Sunday, I was off playing street hockey with my friends when I saw her and dad drive by in the impala. All dressed up and smelling of powder.
No, sorry, I think Jesus definitely existed, but I also believe he would blow a fuckin nut if he returned today and saw what the Christians had made of him.
Hed be all like WHOOAA! NO NO NO NO NO! Thats NOT what I said! and hed quickly make his leave.
Im not so vain to assume that this is all there is, there is a hell of a lot more going on out there than we can see, but the need to simplify it down to saying that theres some big dude sitting on a white throne up there in the clouds that looks like an old man with a beard ?... leave that for the chimps from 2001 a space odyssey. Its oversimplification geared towards the terrified and ignorant, and I am not a Christian. (No offence to any Christians, course).
I like the 10 commandments, I think people should live like that. But if you are some heathen tribesman in some small pacific island that has never heard of jesus and you happen to worship a 4 headed blowfish carved out of coconuts, but in actuality live your life perfectly akin to the 10 commandments, I dont think you need to be saved. There are chances that you live your life more true to god than most Christians do, so good on ya.
No, Im not religious.
Spiritual? Hell ya. So when things like having a dream that simply says pomegranates in the bible happen, its strange enough and I respect it enough to try to figure out what was going on with it.
Well, I hit a few sites last night trying to find a quote from the bible that would jump out at me, trying to find anything regarding pomegranates that would ring a far away bell when I read the words. Didnt happen.
I could only find mention of it a few times in Exodus, mostly used as decoration on a robe, and then a very bleak one in Joel:
Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
12The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree--
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men
That didnt really ring anything with me. This dream wasnt a bleak feeling, and I am not feeling bleak. Perhaps I was for a while, but Im certainly not anymore. No that couldnt be it.
Then I started thinking about psychological possibilities of my subconscious actually remembering passages that I was forced to read when I was around 7 years old. I dont know if 30 years of life since then would completely blot that out, but if that was a possibility, I should search the Good News Bible because that was the one I had as a kid. It was all easy reading English, and maybe I actually did remember something.?
A search for pomegranate in the Good new bible came up with this, again from the Song of Solomon:
7:1 What a magnificent young woman you are! How beautiful are your feet in sandals. The curve of your thighs is like the work of an artist.
7:2 A bowl is there, that never runs out of spiced wine. A sheaf of wheat is there, surrounded by lilies.
7:3 Your breasts are like twin deer, like two gazelles.
7:4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in the city of Heshbon, near the gate of that great city. Your nose is as lovely as the tower of Lebanon that stands guard at Damascus.
7:5 Your head is held high like Mount Carmel. Your braided hair shines like the finest satin; its beauty could hold a king captive.
7:6 How pretty you are, how beautiful; how complete the delights of your love.
7:7 You are as graceful as a palm tree, and your breasts are clusters of dates.
7:8 I will climb the palm tree and pick its fruit. To me your breasts are like bunches of grapes, your breath like the fragrance of apples,
7:9 and your mouth like the finest wine. Then let the wine flow straight to my lover, flowing over his lips and teeth.
7:10 I belong to my lover, and he desires me.
7:11 Come, darling, let's go out to the countryside and spend the night in the villages.
7:12 We will get up early and look at the vines to see whether they've started to grow, whether the blossoms are opening and the pomegranate trees are in bloom. There I will give you my love.
7:13 You can smell the scent of mandrakes, and all the pleasant fruits are near our door. Darling, I have kept for you the old delights and the new.
(Wow, bible porn. I bet nobody has heard a pickup line like any of THAT before. Hmmm perhaps Ill try one of those next time the opportunity presents itself.)
Well, this doesnt make much sense to me either, however when I think of the emotional strength of that dream, the happiness, the togetherness, the Love, its the only one that seems to fit, but I deny it. I dont want her back. I certainly wish things were different, and I wish she could have understood my definition of Love, but I am not dreaming of our wedding.
Perhaps its simply her wedding. A change, an exodus, a fresh love. Perhaps the pomegranate was simply a symbol, and not specifically pointed to any one quote
In the Greek myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades, lord of the underworld, the pomegranate represents life, regeneration, and marriage.
Judaism
Pomegranate seeds are said to number 613 one for each of the Bible's 613 commandments.6 The pomegranate was revered for the beauty of its shrub, flowers, and fruit symbolising sanctity, fertility, and abundance.7 The Song of Solomon compares the cheeks of a bride behind her veil to the two halves of a pomegranate
Buddhism
Along with the citrus and the peach, the pomegranate is one of the three blessed fruits. In Buddhist art the fruit represents the essence of favourable influences.9 In Buddhist legend the demoness Hariti, who devoured children, was cured of her evil habit by the Buddha, who gave her a pomegranate to eat. She is depicted in Buddhist art holding a child. In Japan she is known as Kishimojin and is invoked by infertile women.10
In China the pomegranate is widely represented in ceramic art symbolising fertility, abundance, posterity, numerous and virtuous offspring, and a blessed future.11 A picture of a ripe open pomegranate is a popular wedding present.
Islam
The heavenly paradise of the Koran describes four gardens with shade, springs, and fruits including the pomegranate. Legend holds that each pomegranate contains one seed that has come down from paradise.5 Pomegranates have had a special role as a fertility symbol in weddings among the Bedouins of the Middle East.14 A fine specimen is secured and split open by the groom as he and his bride open the flap of their tent or enter the door of their house. Abundant seeds ensure that the couple who eat it will have many children
Who knows.
Change, fertility, love, .. I dont have any idea what it means.
Maybe I was just hungry.
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
In fact, last year I visited Granada in Spain, which loosely translated actually means "pomegranate".
Granada, being the final foothold for the Arabs in Spain before they were overthrown in 1492,
but since they occupied that area for 800 years, their influence remains even today, and still
the gardens of the Alhambra are teeming with pomegranate trees, and I saw many in the city
as well. Here's a pic I took of Granada. Love that place.
[Edited on May 01, 2005 11:37AM]