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"Thus Spoke Zarathustra"

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Rosco

Rosco

There was nowhere to go but everywhere.
No, I'm not going to go into a Nietzschean lament, so come out from behind your sofas.

Zarathustra, as I've recently discovered, is an adaptation of Zoroaster, founder of Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism (zoom zoom?). I first consciously perceived Zarathustra, or better said, the exact words "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", during my first DMT experience about 3 months ago. This phrase had for some reason managed to lodge itself in my mind and I found myself repeating it silently at irregular intervals over the next few months. At first I put it off as some random piece of information which had been dislodged from the comforts of my subconscious, only to rise to the surface like that annoying song you can't stop humming. The only problem was, it wasn't any song I had ever heard before, at least not consciously. For that matter, I had never even bothered to look into Nietzsche before.

That is, until I recently decided to uncover the possible meaning this could have. I mean, why, of all possible phrases, titles, songs, etc. that are jammed into my cranium, did this one come to light? Or if it was some genuine piece of 'divine knowledge' which I had managed to tap into, what significance could it have for me?

I also posted this experience in another topic, pertaining in part to Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", wondering if anyone else has had a similar 'revelation'. I suppose I already know the next step I'll take (no, I'm not joining a Zoroastrian cult), but in the meantime I just wanted to introduce myself and see if anyone has any ideas, advice and so forth.

Best regards,
Ros
 
Hmm.. the definition per Wikipedia doesn't quite fit, but I'll look into it nonetheless.. Coincidentally, I just mentioned this to someone I met while travelling and they started 'freaking out', thus producing a copy of the very book, which he received from someone he met along the road. Now, I do realize this is a fairly common book but on the other hand it seems a bit beyond coincidence that all of these things are coming together at just the right moment.. divine intervention after all? We shall see.
 
All coincidences aside, if you want to read some Nietzsche, I would advise against beginning with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". It is one of his harder to understand books, being full of (apparent?) contradictions and aphorisms. Halfway in between poetic and philosophical writing, some nuances have been lost in translation too. Rather start with a secondary text (of which there are plenty good ones). If you must read a primary text first, in my opinion the best text to begin with is "On the Genealogy of Morals" or else perhaps "Twilight of the Idols" or "The Gay Science".
 
twilight of the idols would indeed be a good place to start, but nothing beats the birth of tragedy as a fundament to his later work, the tragic vision, Apollo as the principle of individuation, Dionysus as primordial unity, identities as Apollonian artistry adrift in the pre-individuated ocean of Dionysus, the chaotic disjunction between form and abysmal unity .. Nietzsche really is a philosopher's philosopher, a finishing stage for the development of though hitherto his work, and also a new beginning..
 
I have a feeling that the other two people who have posted replies, who sound like they know their Nietzsche, may "poo poo" this idea (I say this from experience because I'm doubling majoring in philosophy and history 😁 ) but look up the Spark Notes on "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", or go to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.edu and see what they have to say about this book. I love Nietzsche, and believe he is one the most brilliant and misunderstood philosophers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

One thing I find interesting about "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" is that in this book is the famous Nietzsche quote in which he states "God is Dead", in which he is referring to the old man in the sky Christian god. When this author, book, and statement are put into their historical context, this, I think, is when the possible meaning of work becomes interesting, because during his life is when the rebirth of the occult in Germany, Europe, and the United States was going on (look at Freud, Jung, Alaster Crowley:lol:, and Mary Shelly's work all of them lived during this same time period in which more and more people were becoming very interested in eastern religions, mysticism, and paganism). This new open-mindedness to ideas that been lost in Europe because of Christianity, it seems, has become part of the down fall of "the church" in the last 130ish years. That being said, I have always thought Nietzsche was referring to the down fall of the Christian church that was going on right before his eyes, and he was writing philosophy about it.

Also, do some digging into the Zoroastrianism, it's a really interesting religion. In my ancient history class I learned that there is a lot of "Syncretism" (/ˈsɪŋkrətɪzəm/ is the combining of different (often contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. Syncretism may involve the merger and analogising of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths. -from Wikipedia) between it and Christianity. I have also heard some interesting stuff about what Ahura Mazda says in the in reference to the world and why it is the way it is (essentially the creating of duality and why he felt he needed to bring that experience to humanity and himself). Zoroastrianism is a very interesting religion.

When I saw the title of your post I HAD to read it, and while I was reading it I gave goosebumps, and keep getting them as I write this, because there is one saying I whole heartily live by, and that is pay attention to the coincidences!!! I have found that life seems to work a lot more fluidly, and in my best interests when I pay attention to to them because they really are not coincidences, they are universe telling us something! You seem to have fallen down a philosophical/historical rabbit hole that I believe has a profound message for you. Don't be discouraged by the complexity of Nietzsche's work, especially if you do a some research about the book and Zoroastrianism too. I hope this helps. :thumb_up:
 
CLT said:
All coincidences aside, if you want to read some Nietzsche, I would advise against beginning with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". It is one of his harder to understand books, being full of (apparent?) contradictions and aphorisms. Halfway in between poetic and philosophical writing, some nuances have been lost in translation too. Rather start with a secondary text (of which there are plenty good ones). If you must read a primary text first, in my opinion the best text to begin with is "On the Genealogy of Morals" or else perhaps "Twilight of the Gods" or "The Gay Science".
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I've had the book for a couple years and i'm only halfway through it. I pick it up occasionally and re-read the same 5 paragraphs over and over again and try to make sense of it.

There are moments of pure beauty within its text, and those i cherish having read. But alot of it is a bit ridiculous. I would definitely suggest starting with one of his lighter titles like twilight of the idols before jumping into this one.

Interesting that this phrase came up in your DMT experience...
 
Rosco ,that is awesome ,and I agree with philo (sofia)about paying attention to coincidences,and Zoroastrianism is chock full of them.Zorasters mother was a virgin impregnated by a beam of light.There are tons more ,zoroasters use esphand to dispel the evil eye,aka syrian rue,and symbols of ahuru mazda show him flying in a spaceship.
I didnt read the book ,yet,but the basic philosophy of good thoughts , good words and good actions could be a good mission statement for a D vap.
I got interested in zoroastrianism from seeing the symbol on a wall chart for various religions.
It hit me with that time stopping ,I know you from somewhere feeling,and it keeps coming up with that same feeling everytime I hear anything about it.
Like this
 
Thanks for your answers, I will certainly be looking into Nietzsche & Zoroastrianism, starting with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" - despite the inherent complexity of this work. Perhaps it would be best to read it in German though, as many recent translations from not-so-recent (non-English) publications tend to be somewhat misleading at times. But that aside, I absolutely agree that one should pay attention to so-called coincidences, however trivial and unimportant they may seem. After briefly looking into both Nietzschean and Zoroastrian philosophy, I recognize a certain synchronicity with some of my own thoughts/ideas, and see this as an opportunity to 'broaden my horizon' if you will. At the moment I find myself on a journey of spiritual and mental expansion of sorts (who would have thought), and have been learning to recognize such occurrences - coincidence or not - as signs, leading me towards a specific thought process or ideology. Perhaps this borders on Mysticism, but I feel there is so much more than can be explained by conventional western thought and science.
 
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