Wisdom and Bravery

 The quality of our life is a product of our choices. The environment we live in, the people we associate with and our happiness depends on our decisions. A different person in our place might be more happy or more successful than us; or he might had given up or never achieved half the things we did, due to choosing another path. But, what would help us take the best decisions possible and enjoy the maximum benefits from life? What can ensue that we choose correctly and right? A certain kind of knowledge, that is called wisdom.
 Wisdom was defined by Socrates, as the knowledge or the ability to distinguish between good and bad. But how can one separate how much good and bad something is? The answer can be found in the word of Christ, that even if you don't believe in his divine nature, the fact remains that he was a great historic figure that created one of the biggest religions and so the wisdom of his words cannot be ignored. He says on Matthew 7:15 that ''they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inward they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?'' and on Luke 6:44 '' No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, people do not gather figs from thornbushes, or grapes from brambles''. The meaning of these words is that one can recognize how good something is, by its results and not by what it appears to be. A lot of things or people, even though they appear to be good, they are not in reality, for they may end up hurting you or do bad things.

 But what is the most important thing, one should make sure nothing bad happens to it? If one has read my previous article at (https://theoryofhope.blogspot.ca/2016/04/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-try-to-better_26.html) he will realize that this is his soul. That is because his soul is immortal and also, it is what the person truly is! Of course from logic stems the question, how can someone hurts his soul or take care of it? Christ gives again the answer to it in Mark 7:15-16 ''Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes of a person that defiles them''. The meaning of this, is that nothing on our environment (outside of us) can truly harm us (by going inside us), for they cannot affect our soul, but they only affect our property or our body and these matters not in comparison with our soul! Also the only thing that can ''defile'' the person, meaning his soul, is himself, by what comes out of him or simply said, his actions. Here, you should note that you are not just a body, but an immortal soul and your body is just a ''possession'' you have. And so you are safe, for nothing, but you, can hurt yourself, meaning your soul which is what really matters. That is the reason, Socrates states in Plato's' book Gorgias, said that it is better to be wronged, than to wrong someone else. Therefore, that explains why it is important to be wise! So that you may abstain from making any bad deeds or decisions and in the process hurt your soul and furthermore act accordingly, so that you may elevate your soul, through good and fair actions. Of course, the benefits one enjoys from being wise extend beyond this philosophical argument into real life. There, by being able to separate what is good and bad, not only you can live a just life, but also you can improve your environment, you can help your fellow humans and live happier. Plus wisdom, will result in the better management of the goods you already possess. For example, what would be the value of money in our lives, if we were to spend it all on drugs and destroy our health? Would meeting our soulmate make us happy, if we were unable to have a stable relationship? The answer is obvious. So what we require in life in not just goods, but also the knowledge of how to properly manage them! If one thinks that i am exaggerating, he only has to look at the divorce rate.
 But then, a true philosopher would ask ''what is truly good and bad?''. Well, as stated previously one may distinguish good from bad, by their ''fruit'', or simply explained their results. If an action is based on love and you believe that it will benefit your soul and help someone else, then you should do it. But, if deep down you know, that you only wish to make such an action because you want to satisfy your desires, or it is in no one's benefit and most of all, that it will not elevate your soul, then simply do not do it. So, before one should take any action, he should pause to wonder, is his action going to benefit his soul, for his soul is the most important of all. Obviously, what elevates one's soul, are the actions that stems from emotions like love and compassion or deeds that are based on kindness and are intended to help others. On the other hand, one can hurt his soul by giving into his lustful desires and negative emotions and of course by hurting another person. A great advise it to never take any decisions when you are angry or in a bad emotional state.
 Then, one justifiably can ask, how do i become wise, how do i learn to separate good from bad? Well, this article do provide some clues, as do my other articles, but i strongly recommend to the one who wishes to pursue further, to read about Plato's philosophy, especially his book Republic. In addition, he should follow Christs teaching about unconditional love, even for his enemies and the ones who hurt him and read the preachings of Buddha. But i believe, no matter how difficult a decision may be or how impossible it seems to separate good from wrong, if his actions are based on kindness, then he will not falter.

 Sadly, usually the wrong decision in life is also the easy one, while the path of justice is hard. That is the reason why Socrates defined as the brave man, the one who follows what is right, no matter how difficult the road may be. So, if one wishes to rise and make a difference, then he has to stand for what is right no matter the cost. Because, by walking the right path, even though it might lead him to unpleasant situations, it will certainly elevate his soul and make him a better character. As Christ said on Matthew 7:14 ''For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it''.

                                                                                Andreas Sarchosis

Apothegm

''A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.''

Mohandas Gandhi

Positive way of thinking and happiness

 ''Your happiness depends on the quality of your thoughts''

-Marcus Aurelius

Reality is subjective. The way the world is, for us at least, is the way we perceive it. The world around us does not really matter as much, as how we understand and see it. There are people that have less goods than us, for example money or even people with less love in their lives. There are also people that have more wealth and more love in their lives than us. But, there are happier and unhappier people, in both categories! That is due to the fact that they perceive reality in a different way, even though reality is the same. As a result the only thing that defines our happiness is us and it is not our environment that has to change in order for us to be happy, but ourselves!

 Every action we take, every decision we make, small or big, is based on our character, for our character is what defines our choices. A different person in our place, might not had succeeded as much as we have or he may had given up long ago. But he may also had achieved more than us, or he might had reached happiness. That is because of the different choices he would make, due to his different character. And so by bettering ourselves we may improve our decision process, and therefore change our environment in a positive way! Therefore, one should not wait for a significant change in his environment in order to reach happiness, e.g. get a promotion in his work, but instead he should focus on bettering himself and therefore change the way he perceives the world, so that he may be happy with what he already has. Plus, people wish from their nature to have increasingly more goods that they already have and that is why they never feel fulfilled. If someone's mentality compels him to acquire more and more goods in order to be happy, he will never achieved happiness because for example his promotion at work will not be enough for him. In my article at ( https://theoryofhope.blogspot.ca/2016/04/firstof-all-in-order-to-make-my-case-we.html ) i make my case that the only way to be happy is to improve yourself. 
 Of course, one might argue that if someone has all the goods he could possibly wish for, for example wealth or a beautiful family, how could he be unhappy? Also, if one has nothing, how could he be happy? Plotinus, a great ancient Greek philosopher stated that ''A soul can not see beauty, if she is not beautiful by herself ''. Socrates said, that if something has good inside it, then it must be by its nature, beautiful in some degree. Meaning a good deed, a kiss, a forgiveness or a benign idea hides beauty inside it, for those who can see it. This results from the fact that the real beauty in this life does not hide inside a big house, a burger, a car or between the legs of a hot woman but it lies inside a large family, a poem or a song, and inside the hug of the woman you love. Because happiness, joy and bliss are emotions and not physical objects, and so they are produced by other emotions. And the feelings that are resulting in happiness, are not the joy you feel when you eat a pizza or you lie with a new partner but rather the love you feel for your significant other or the peacefulness that art can fill you with. But, in order to be able to appreciate these emotions, one must also have a good soul. That is because similar things attract similar. If one has only light in his soul then it is light that he seeks. But if one has only negative emotions, like hate, then he does not seek kindness but he seeks to hurt others. The ''more light'' one has in his soul, the more he is attracted to kindness and good and so the more he can reach happiness, because he is searching for it into the right ''places''! For example, if one has love inside him, then he is looking to find love, and so he seeks his soulmate and not a different partner for sex every night, and that results in him finding happiness. On the other hand, if one's psychological world is being ravaged by resentment, then he does not seek to see other people smiling, but instead he wishes to hurt them and so he can never reach happiness, for he is searching for it in the wrong things! Of course, humans have both good and bad inside them and so the better characters they are, the more they can reach happiness because the more they are attracted to the things that lead to happiness, live kindness and spiritual goods! As a result, if someone is not a good soul, then not only does he not look for it in the ''right'' things, but even if he finds it then he is unable to recognize it! Socrates was a firm believer that people who are not just and kind can not find happiness and he unfurls this idea into a number of his book, e.g. Gorgias or the Republic.
 Then from logic stems the following question of how can someone improve himself. There are of course a lot of ways one can do that, for example by deciding to forgive the ones who hurt him, instead of taking retribution or by having as a role model a person like Socrates, that will lead him into a just and fair life. Also he may achieve that by acquiring wisdom via reading philosophy or by constantly helping the people around him. Most of all, he has to take control of his negative emotions (hate, anger, jealousy etc.) and eradicate them, while focusing at his positive ones. But in this article i will focus only on the benefits one may acquire from the positive way of thinking. The way one thinks affects the way he feels because the only thing that affects our emotions are ultimately our thoughts. One initially might say that it is also our environment, but after some thought he would understand that our environment affect the way we think and our thoughts are what affects our feelings. For example if one tries to smile and to talk with words that have a positive meaning, even though he does not feel like doing it, that will result in a positive effect on his emotions. This is a way that one may ''trick'' his mind into thinking that it is happy. Even though he initially might not want to do that, in time he will get used to it and then he will do spontaneously without trying and that will help him ''persuade'' his body that he is happy and ultimately his emotions too. Also, one by doing positive thoughts he can ''trick'' his soul into happiness. For example, a few days ago my mother had a job interview. In the beginning she had a way of thinking, like ''if i don't like that job i can always find another one'' or ''if they don't pay well i can always leave, no pressure''. Even though she thought that this was a positive way of thinking, it caused her anxiety. That is due to the fact that her mentality was actually negative. What she should have been thinking from the start should be more like, ''this job is going to be great and so there is no reason for me to get stressed'' and ''of course they are going to pay me well, why am i even worrying?''. When she changed her way of thinking, then the anxiety faded away and also the job proved to be as good as she thought it would be. The power of the mind is incredible. Negative way of thinking can cause anxiety and even health issues, while it is proven that patients that have a good mentality heal faster (placebo effect). Great incite gives Louise L Hay's book ''Heart Thoughts'', that recently came to my hands when my mother decided to read it, and even though i disagree with some parts of her philosophy it is really good and helpful. Additionally, one should try to accept and love himself as he is now, and so, then he may picture and focus hard on what he wishes to become and embrace it, so that he may be it. Also, he should speak positive to himself and ''tell'' him what he wants to become. He should say ''I am taking responsibility. I am aware that there is something i can do to change. I deserve to change and I believe I am worth it.'' because if he does not believe that he is worth to improve and become better, then he will not change. It is our divine purpose to improve ourselves, to take control over our negative emotions and desires and so walk the path to God. Furthermore, he should get in touch with his emotions, so that he may control them. For example, if he feels angry he should release his anger, by physical exercise e.g. running or playing tennis. Finally he has to understand that God loves all humans, including him and since God is good He wishes to help him. So let Him help you and show you the right path in life. Never forsaken the fact that your thoughts is what defines your character and your character defines your soul and there is nothing more important than taking care of your soul.

 Summarizing, our happiness depends only on ourselves. We can change our emotions and thoughts and so improve ourselves and ultimately achieve happiness. For example, if one has no good inside him, in the sense that he is filled with negative feelings, then he is unable to appreciate true beauty and therefore he may never know joy, serenity and bliss. Finally, it is really easy to manipulate yourself into believing that he feels good, by acting positive (e.g. smile even if you don't wish to do it) and primary by thinking positive and that will eventually result into actually making you feel good and happy!

                                                                                         Andreas Sarchosis

Apothegm

Reincarnation

 It is important that when someone reads and learns something new, he has his mind open to unfamiliar possibilities and that he is also not bound from what he already knows. He should consider everything and examine them via the use of logic. This article, although it illustrates an idea that is foreign and distant, especially for my Christian readers, should be taken under serious consideration. One should always make himself available to new information because even though they could be wrong, they could also potentially be right, and if they are correct, then he has learned something he did not know before. Even further, one should at least consider a mentality that if not the majority, a great percentage of the populace accept, in their religions.
 First of all, a fair number of big religions like Buddhism or Hinduism accept reincarnation. For a more complete list of the official position of different religions you may visit the following web address at http://reincarnationafterdeath.com/what-religions-believe-in-reincarnation/. In Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism), Krishna dedicates the majority of the book teaching about elevating your character through your various reincarnations in this world. As I have stated in previous articles (specifically at https://theoryofhope.blogspot.ca/2016/05/realityis-unique-and-so-there-is-only.html) God ''exists'' in all religions and the only reason they are different from one another is due to humans because we are incapable of preserving the word of ''perfection'' (meaning that God's word is all about love and kindness and therefore human through the ages twisted that in order to get their way) and also due to the cultural and geopolitical differences of the eras. The sacred texts of the Hinduism religion, like Bhagavad Gita, illustrate this point since they only write about love and kindness, while mostly emphasizing on the salvation of one's soul and his liberation from the cycle of continuous reincarnations on this world, and therefore, his advancement on the next. Buddha's base of philosophy is also the elevation of one's character and his enlightenment that will also lead him to the salvation of his soul and therefore unbound him from the chains of reincarnation in this world of pain. Of course for my readers that already believe in this idea, due to accepting a religion that advocates this theory or not,  this article is redundant, but for example Christians and Western people that are not familiar with this notion, let's see what the Western culture had to say about it.
 The bases from which Western philosophy stems from are ancient Greek. Socrates in Plato's book Phaidon, discuses this idea. He supports via logical arguments (the theory of reminiscence) that souls existed before we were born and will continue to exist after we die, for they are eternal. Also, still using logical thoughts and arguments, he proves to his students that what we truly are is not our body but our soul that reincarnates in this world with different bodies over various eras! Sadly, I cannot explain Socrates's reasoning here because it would exceed by far the capacity of this article, but I strongly recommend you to read Phaidon for yourselves and pay close attention to his teachings. Moreover, all religious or spiritual organization in ancient Greece accepted reincarnation as a reality, For example the Orphics believed that our soul is perfect because it was made in the image of God, but all these imperfection (anger, hate, pain etc.) that we experience in life are due to our body, that is made out of matter and because of that they used to call the human body the tomb of the soul. Pythagoreans, the followers of Pythagoras, also believed in reincarnation and saw it as an necessity for the elevation of the human soul. The great Roman philosopher Cicero said on ''Treatise on Glory'' that, ''The counsels of the Divine Mind had some glimpse of truth when they said that men are born in order to suffer the penalty for some sins committed in a former life''.
 Sadly, the Quran remains silent towards the matter of reincarnation, but Sufism a spiritual section of Islam, accepts it as a reality.
 Moreover, according to my previous articles, the purpose of humans is to elevate themselves by bettering their characters and so, find their way back to God. But is that possible to be done in only one life? Most people do not improve their character during their lives, nor do they seek to find wisdom or enlightenment. So my whole philosophy should crumble upon that, for almost no one succeeds in his purpose in live. Plus, it is almost impossible for the majority of people to elevate themselves to near perfection, meaning in a state where they can abolish their negative emotions and embrace only the positive, and love all people without exception, in just one life. How much can one better himself in just a few years? What about the people who die young?Therefore, there must be more than one life that people live on this world so that we may elevate themselves through multiple lives, in order to reach perfection.
 In addition, in my previous article about Christ and the church, I state that church, being a man made organization has twisted the preachings of Jesus to some degree ( you may find the link here https://theoryofhope.blogspot.ca/2016/05/christ-and-church.html ) and that happened primarily during the first centuries after Christ during the contraction of the Church as we know it today, at the ecumenical counsels. Before them, though, the majority of Christians believed in reincarnation! More specifically, the order of Gnostics, one of the biggest sections of Christianity during the early centuries after Christ that later was branded as a harmful cult and their texts as apocryphal gospels due to our loving church, and whose beliefs certainly approached reality much more than the churches, rigorously accepted it as a valid truth. Their most notable example was Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, which represents reincarnation. Of course, there is a plethora of other teachings about reincarnation, which are not symbolic, and therefore, are much more clearer about it. Likewise, Saint Austine of Hippo was a firm believer of reincarnation that asked a very important question in his Confessions ''Say, Lord... did my infancy succeed another age of mine that died before it? Was it that which I spent within my mother's womb?... and what before that life again, O God... was I anywhere or in any body?''. The fact remains that before the church abolished a big portion of knowledge about the divine as heretic, reincarnation was an idea that the majority of Christians accepted!
 But what did Christ say about it? Sadly, in all 4 Gospels he remained silent about it, except in a few allegorical stories that He arguably might have referred to it through symbolism. But that is to be expected because the texts where Jesus spoke about it was deemed heretic and they are categorized as apocryphal gospels! One may find references of the texts that invoked the secret teachings of Christianity (mostly the Gnostics), at the following address http://reluctant-messenger.com/Lost-Doctrines-Christianity003.htm . As you may read, there are a lot of references that does not fit very well with the views of church, that is, we only live once. One should keep in mind, that the Christian who lived in the first centuries after Christ, before the church twisted the teachings of Jesus, believed that His preachings, although mostly allegorical, contained the theory of reincarnation and the knowledge that the soul is to be born many times in this world, with different bodies. Some of the most notable texts (that were a part of the Gnostic teachings of course) where Christ referred to reincarnation through symbolism are the ''hymn of the Perl'' (apocryphal gospel of Thomas) and the Shepherd of Hermas''. But I will deal with the allegorical meaning of some of them in another article.
 Finally, as I have previously stated, God ''appears'' in all religions and the differences between them are caused due to a human factor, so if all of them (their untwisted ''divine inspired'' teachings at least) claim the same thing, then that must be true, or at the very least should be taken under very serious consideration, no matter how unfamiliar or foreign it seems. Plus, the theory of reincarnation goes hand in hand with the idea of how our world works and how justice is served, for God must be just: Karma, or as ancient Greeks used to call it Heimarmene.

                                                                                        Andreas Sarchosis

Apothegm

The theory of hope

''What we call Christianity today, also existed as a religion amongst the ancient people and it existed since the beginning of the human race. When Christ came they started calling it Christian religion; the true religion, that existed from far before.''
Saint Augustine, RETRACTATICNES, I 113 (P.L.32)

 After one reads my article about God (https://theoryofhope.blogspot.ca/2016/05/realityis-unique-and-so-there-is-only.html) he will understand that people, being imperfect, distorted the word of God because it is perfect (in the sense that it is all about love, kindness etc.) and that goes for all religions and spiritual organizations. Also, according to my philosophy, the most important thing a man can do in his life is to elevate his soul and better his character (https://theoryofhope.blogspot.ca/2016/04/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-try-to-better_26.html), and that will result in him having a much better life and ultimately achieving happiness. But, around all civilizations and eras, the wise man that really represent their religion and philosophy (e.g. Socrates), the spiritual institutions ( e.g. Gnosticism) and even the ''divine inspired'' parts of the holy texts of the various religions, contains allegorical stories in order to protect the ''uninitiated and the outsides'' from their knowledge. In this article, i will comment on three stories and their meaning and in the process, I will reveal the purpose of man in this world and the theory of hope.
 The first symbolic story comes from Socrates and one may find written by his apprentice Plato, in the book Phaedrus where it is also explained by him. There is a rider on a chariot, where there are bound two horses next to each other. The left horse is ugly, of bad breed and undisciplined while the right horse, is very beautiful, of noble breed and disciplined. Of course, the 2 horses being opposite to each other, by their nature, wished to go in different directions. The rider represents our spirit, that is nothing else than our intellect, or simply explained, our ability to think. Socrates, called it 'Λογιστικόν', which translates to 'the one that computes (thinks)'. The two horses, represent the two parts that our soul is divided into, the ''higher'' part, from which stems all the positive emotions like love or friendship and the ''lower' part, from which comes the negative emotions like hate or malevolence. The left horse, which represents the lower part and it is named "Επιθυμιτικόν'' that translates to ''the one that desires'', since our lustful desires, like resentment are due to our negative emotions. The right horse, represents the higher part of our souls, that is called ''Θυμοειδες'', which roughly translates to ''the one with the emotions''. Socrates considers in his myth the spirit as a part of the soul that ultimately has three parts, but these are just definitions and are of no consequence. Of course, the two horses, being opposite to each other by their nature, wished to go to different directions. The purpose of the rider (intellect) is to control the undisciplined horse that wants to follow the path of evil and set it to the same path as the other horse, that tends to go towards the path of good. This means that the person has to control and eradicate his negative emotions and focus into the positive ones, by improving his character and therefore elevating his soul, so that he may take the path of enlightenment and knowledge. So, according to Socrates, what one should struggle in life is to better himself and follow the path of knowledge.
 Now, one should wonder where this road of self-improvement and wisdom will lead him and what benefits, besides taking care of his immortal soul, he will enjoy. The answer was given in one of Christ's allegories, specifically the parabola of the lost son. On Luke 15:11-32 Jesus says 11 : “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”  The explanation of this allegory is: The Father represents God and the lost son represents the human, who leaves from his true home-heaven to journey into another city- be born in this world of matter. There he spends all of his wealth-spiritual goods that he was provided in his soul, to wild living, which means he got seduced by his lustful desires and the materialistic goods of this world (e.g. money) and forgot his true self and home. But then, the path he choose of giving into materialism and into the fulfillment of his desires only led him into famine and poverty, where that represents unhappiness, sin, degradation of his soul and spiritual poverty. Then, in order to survive, he has to feed pigs and also eat their food, which symbolizes that in order to continue on this pitiful path of unhappiness and darkness, he had to submit himself more into sin and the lies that this world offers, and pollute him self by eating pig food-committing evil actions. So when ''he came to his senses'', meaning when he remembered his heavenly home and started to fight for his soul, awaken from his lethargy and took the path of light, he started heading towards his Father and his home. But his Father saw him coming from afar and He felt sorry for him and He greeted him, hugged him and kissed him. That represents that God is merciful and if one wished to return to Him, He will help him find the right path and guide him all the way. Then, the son admitted that he sinned against Him and against heaven and he was unworthy of being His son, but the Father gave him the best robe, put a ring in his hand and sandals on his feet and celebrated with the most fat calf! One can easily speculate on what these gifts mean, but it will not be explained in this article. Then, He said He was so happy because His son was lost and found, he was dead and now he is alive and when the brother was enraged with His Father's decision to celebrate, He repeated the same words as an answer: Lost means that humans are adrift in this world of matter, inside their sins, their lustful desires, allured by them from God and blinded by the lies the create for themselves, but found represents their elevation, their path back home to heaven, the control of the mind over the emotions of the soul. It also represents stepping out of the lies that this world holds (lost in the lies), into the truth and enlightenment. Dead represents the spiritual death one forces his soul to go through by committing sins, injustices and giving into his urges and how the soul dies by becoming evil, meaning being consumed and enslaved so much by its desires, that he loses his free will and ability to think beyond the boundary of ''how to fulfill them''. On the other hand, alive symbolizes the eternal life Christ is promising throughout the four gospels, but it is not eternal life on this world of pain, but spiritual eternal life in heaven, for God is life and our soul and spirit are immortals! As one can see, the benefits that he may obtain by taking control of his two horses are tremendous.
 Finally, one should study the 2 plays by Sophocles Oedipus Tyrant and Oedipus at Colono. Their summary can be found on Wikipedia on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus and at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_at_Colonus. The symbolic value of this story is very important and in this article, I will only do a brief summary of it, without going too much into detail, because that would require a whole book, which far exceeds the limits of this article. If the reader wishes to analyze this subject in depth the only book I can recommend is ''ΟΙΠΟΔΑΣ: Το πανανθρώπινο σύμβολο΄΄ by ''Ε.Β. Κουτσοθόδωρος'' which is sadly only available in Greek. Oedipus (=swollen foot) symbolizes man. It has the same meaning as the lost son of Christ's parabola, while his father Laius symbolizes God and spirit and his mother Jocasta symbolizes matter and this world. The oracle foresaw that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, meaning recede himself from the divine and give into his lustful desires and sins that are derived from materialism, forget the real world of light and embrace the world of lies, pain and darkness. In the beginning, Oedipus was living in Corinth, with his fake father and mother, which represent that state of fake bliss, that all people have to go through until they grow up. That has a double meaning, it can represent the early childish years, when one is unable to choose for himself and also the first reincarnations of humans, before they are spiritually mature enough, in order to be able to choose between good or evil. Then, Oedipus by growing up, leaves this state (learns that Polybus might not be his real father) and heads towards Thebes, which has a similar allegory as his mother. It stands for this world and all its materialistic and emotional beguile, that tilts the man from the path of justice towards the road of lust. There, in the road towards darkness, his father-God tries to prevent him from going any further (in a crossroad of three paths, where the number three represents the elevation and the return to heaven), but they fight and he kills him, due to ignorance, which means that he blinds himself to the divine and he dissociates from truth and light. He allows the lies that stems of this world to darken the truth and gives into sin and evil. After that, Oedipus will meet the famous Sphinx, which represents the purpose of humanity, which is to return back to their heavenly home, and even though he will solve her riddle, the actual meaning of the riddle will not be understood by him. So Oedipus he will become king of Thebes and marry his mother, which represents the final and determinant submission to sin and darkness. That will result in a plague in the city, or better said a plague in his soul. Remember, Socrates said that what is sickness to the body is injustice to the soul. Then, after reaching the bottom (the prodigal son eating pig food and Oedipus having four children with his mother and a plague), he will come to his senses and start searching for the truth. An oracle will inform him that in order to stop the disease of his soul he must find the King's killer and bring him to justice. So Oedipus will begin his long journey to find the truth (the journey to return home), meaning the spiritual truth about God and his origin from heaven, which will deprave him from his sins and free him from the bonds of matter. Then he will discover the truth (with God's guidance in the form of the Oracle Tiresias), his mother will kill herself (he will destroy his evil nature, his negative emotions=take control of his horses), and he will blind himself to this world. But with these actions, he will open the third eye and gaze into the true world of spirit and enlightenment. Then, in the second play of Sophocles, Oedipus at Colono, with his daughter Antigone as a guide, Oedipus seeks refugee in Athens, the city of Athena the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge,who represents the spiritual knowledge about God, that only now Oedipus was able to see and understand. In Athens, he gains support from the king Theseus, who represents God's help towards the humans who seek Him. Then he resists both Creon's and his son Polynikes' persuasion to return back to Thebes, which means that he manages to resist the temptation of matter and the seduction of the lies they offer. Having conquered his desires he may proceed to bath himself with libations, which stand for his final atonement for the sins he committed in the past. So, pure and good, he may proceed into next world beside his father into heaven and eternal life, which is symbolically stated by his disappearance not death. Note, Oedipus chooses to be buried in Athens and not Thebes.
 All in all, these parabolic stories are a great summary of my theory of Hope for they explain the reality we live in. There is a God and He is love, kindness and light, and therefore, not only did He not leave us, His children, without hope, but He gave us the ultimate purpose and gift, to elevate ourselves to gods and join Him in the world of light and in eternal spiritual life! So no matter how hard your life may be, always remember that there is a purpose for you and another life awaits you, where there is no pain, just peace and kindness. Let this knowledge fill your heart with love and hope. Let yourself give into the positive emotions, forgive the ones who hurt you in the past and show love to all the people around you. Most of all, no matter how difficult a time you are going through, always remember that there is hope!

                                                                                       Andreas Sarchosis