Telos - Revelation of Love’s Mystery
Thomas Aquinas “Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence.” (Summa Theologica, I-II, Q. 3, A. 8
“The function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity implies a rational principle, and the function of a good man is the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well performed it is performed in accord with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case, then happiness turns out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.” Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, Chapter 7)
Thomas Aquinas “Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence.” (Summa Theologica, I-II, Q. 3, A. 8
“You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 4.4.5)
“Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.” (Dhammapada, Verse 1)
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The concept of Telos, as the ultimate purpose or end, manifests across Aristotle, Aquinas, Hinduism, and Buddhism, revealing shared themes of ethical living, self-awareness, and transcendence through Aristotle’s pursuit of eudaimonia—a flourishing life achieved via rational virtue; Aquinas’ vision of beatitudo—the beatific vision of union with God through grace and moral excellence; Hinduism’s aspiration for Moksha—liberation from samsara by realizing the self as Brahman through dharma, yoga, and self-knowledge; and Buddhism’s quest for Nirvana—the cessation of suffering and rebirth attained through the Eightfold Path, mindfulness, and insight into the nature of reality.
Telos - Revelation of Love’s Mystery
By Smoke
Shedding egoic layers,
Peeling back my broken hearted armor,
Standing naked,
Streaks of alchemized pain, tattooed across this form,
One with Love,
Indivisible harmony.
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My reflection’s gaze,
Eyes to my soul staring back at me,
Dropping all pretenses,
Cosmic heart shines through,
Resting.
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A winding river of life,
Treacherous rapids, no sturdy boat or buoyant device,
Experiences of betrayal, aloneness and lack,
The absence of love and destruction of trust,
Gives way to visceral appreciation,
Transmuted into compassion for all.
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Dropping all judgement,
It’s blinders I no longer need,
Seeing people whole people, their holiness shines through,
True crucifixion of self,
Brings up fear of losing something,
Identity’s existential question,
Love’s gaze dissolved resistance’s resolve.
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Witness to re-emergence of innocence,
Metamorphosis of becoming,
As nervous system overloads,
Circuit breaker kicks in.
Point of creation,
Explosion of consciousness,
In Christ I am.
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These characters we play no longer,
Humbly informed by universal intelligence,
Infinity’s grace embodied,
Evolution’s intent, simultaneously unfolding,
Achieving coherence of oneness in natural systems,
By Heart mind synchronization,
Perfect health and wellbeing,
Optimal social and ecological alignment,
Embracing our Telos -
Revelation of Love’s Mystery.
