Not Knowing God

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Humans have great potential but they are still pulled down by a series of factors. This text should be read and understood by all of you, regardless of religion, nationality, wealth, and so on. I put an emphasis on the understanding of the text, if one does not try to see himself he will not accomplish anything apart from wasting a couple of minutes.

We have one life and most of us waste it knowingly or unknowingly, I know I did, and maybe still do. I present to you a fragment from Corpus Hermeticum entitled "The Greatest Harm for Man is not Knowing God", God stands for a state of mind and as you will see, there is an emphasis on Ignorance as being the basis for all evil and enveloping the entire Earth. The first thing somebody must do is to break through this ignorance.

In the fifth paragraph, the one you need to search for in order to guide you to the gateway of Truth and Knowledge could be understood either as a master, or as your mind. Do not forget the beauty of Truth and Goodness and try to move towards these and slowly you will have a clearer mind. This is not a New Age text, and also not a dogmatic one, it is only a philosophy of becoming human.

1. Whither are you carried, o, Men, drunk with the strong Wine of Ignorance? Which seeing you cannot tolerate, why do you spew it forth?
2. Rise, wake up and look to the sky with the Eyes of your heart, and if not all of you can do this, let there be as many of you who can.
3. For the wickedness of ignorance envelopes the entire Earth and corrupts the Soul, it chains it in the Body and so its rise to the Heavens of Salvation is not permitted.
4. Do not let yourselves carried by the Great Stream, but endure its torrent with all your strength, in this way you will be able to gain the Blessed Heaven.
5. Search for the one who can guide you to the gateway of Truth and Knowledge, where the Light is pure, undefiled by Darkness, where nobody is drunk, instead all are awake and in their hearts, look upwards to him, for his pleasure is to be seen.
6. For he can not be heard with the ears, nor seen with the eyes, nor expressed with words, only in the mind and the heart.
7. But first you must tear to pieces and break through the garment you wear, through the fabric of ignorance; this is the basis for all Evil, the bond of Corruption, the dark Veil, the living Death, a Corpse with senses, the Grave we carry with us, the Thief from within, which, through what he loves in us, hates us, envies us.
8. These are the painful garments with which you are covered, and that pull you down, you look up less and less to the beauty of Truth and Goodness; you should hate the wickedness of this Garment and understand the traps it lays for you.
9. That is why he works to make good the things that only seem and are perceived by the senses, while the true things he hides them and covers them in matter, filling what he shows you with hostile pleasure so you can not hear what you should hear and see what you should see.

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You can read this chapter in AWIL Magazine, issue 5. An error occurred in the final paragraph, read "That is why he works" not "That is why the works".

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Expulsion from the Garden of Eden by Thomas Cole

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Although born in England, Thomas Cole is considered an American artist, the reason being that he emigrated for the US when he was eighteen years old and "the new world" gave him nature, the kind that Europe lost. His works, even though are described as landscapes, deal with humanity. Using an incredible talent of creating images of nature, he represents the ups and downs that mark our civilization.

Expulsion from the Garden of Eden; oil on canvas; 1828; 101x138; MFA, Boston 
Here you can clearly see his approach, Adam and Eve are more like two lines of color, the drama of the event being transmitted to us through the use of nature, light, and so on. Eden is shown as a true paradise while the exterior (on the left) is darkened. A light shines out through what seems to be a portal, the light being an element that stands to replace the traditional angel. What awaits humanity is a great deal of suffering, suggested to us by the two wild animals that can be seen on in the lower left. Volcanoes erupt in the background and the wind is blowing, it too driving out the first humans.

The Expulsion, Moon and Firelight, a painting also dating from 1828, is considered to be a "landscape" version of Expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Barbarian Empire

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Recently a couple of images presenting to the world what could possibly be only a glimpse into what is really happening in Afghanistan and Iraq were released. Keep in mind, these are images of US soldiers photographed with ”their prize”. With things like this, terrorism is not eliminated, it is promoted and if soldiers from the US army have this type of mentality, posing next to a corpse and smiling, it makes me ashamed of being part of a society that promotes freedom and respect for others.

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A smile of death.

The murdered man was the son of a farmer.

Nakagin Capsule Tower

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You all remember The Fifth Element, think about the home of Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) and do that with the 70's in mind. While it may be an interesting experience, living in a high tech and optimized space, things will soon begin to be a little cramped. The idea behind these capsules was more related to a hotel than constant living, personally, for a hotel a double bed would of been a better choice.

The idea behind this project is not a bad one, if you link more of these modules together to form a bigger apartment it could be an answer to housing problems around the world. Kind of an International Space Station on Earth so to speak. In case of disasters you only have to change the damaged capsules with new ones.

Two concrete towers are the backbone of the building, the modules being attached to these and access being given by the two elevators housed inside the towers. For a number of years the demolition of this architectural monument was discussed, or, as an alternative, modernizing the capsules. No action was yet taken, but the Nakagin Tower seems destined to be replaced by a more modern high-rise if actions are not taken.

Designed by Kisho Kurokawa, this tower is the most known example of Metabolist architecture. This movement was started in Japan after World War II and emphasized the idea of urban organic growth.

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From AWIL Magazine, issue number 5

AME Estudio Design

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Binho Martins, one of the world's best artists just because he appeared in our magazine, has launched his very own design studio, you can visit it here: http://cargocollective.com/ameestudio. We wish you success in your endeavour, all the best to you.

Writers Wanted!

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AWIL Magazine is growing and it needs your help, the present writers are Michael Johnson, Dănilă Alexandra, Hristofor Hrisoskulov and I, Florin Cosma. Starting with the 6th issue a couple of people said they want to get involved, but for this project to continue its development we would need at least three more writers.

First we are searching for somebody who enjoys literature in order to write reviews of books, either new or old and to ”track down” young writers that did not publish their works ”on paper” yet, the Internet is a great treasure chest.

Second we would like to get in touch with someone who is interested in open source software/culture along with the ”sharing culture” spin-off.

Third, if you like to start a career in writing you might think of gathering news for AWIL Magazine, these should range from politics to science, from art to history (archaeological discoveries and so on). This activity will prove useful in tackling future writing positions.

We are searching for people that have ideas and know how to defend them. This magazine is free, it promotes knowledge, development and cooperation. It is written by people that enjoy cultural diversity and understand that we are all one. Through understanding our world, we understand ourselves and begin to stand on our own feet.

All the best,
Florin Cosma
angorcosma[@]gmail[.]com