Blake's Mythology Blog

I read about the 6 mental habits that will sabotage your success , with perhaps the most striking and resonant with me being seeking audience approval.  I think that sometimes I really can spend too much time considering what the audience will think and judge about me, instead of just focusing on really doing my best work and pleasing myself.  I don't normally struggle with self-doubt, just worry about how the audience might react sometimes to what I am writing. For this week's reading I found the article about praise to be very interesting.  It was a unique perspective and one that I had not really considered much before.  I liked how the author was very direct with addressing the problems inherent in praise, something that we normally consider good and worth doing.  It made me second guess a little bit some of the things I "praise" about my family members and friends, but I was reassured by his reassurance that we still need to find thing to praise, just may...

 The Golem  Source It was a cold dark night again in Prague, and the winding streets had long been deserted.  A few lights flickered faintly in windows, but chilly air kept them shut and only the barking of dogs disturbed the otherwise peaceful scene.  In a three-story house, in the top floor, one room shone brighter than the rest.  Rabbi Loew was up late again, as was his habit.  He was regarded with a mixture of fear, respect, and admiration among the local population.  Some thought he was a crazy old man, others suspected he was a wizard, while others saw him as a wise and powerful Rabbi.  Mostly, he kept to himself though, trying not to disturb anyone, but the flashing lights and loud bangs that often emanated from his attic would sometimes cause the more ignorant neighbors to complain. Rabbi Loew had lived alone for some time now and his physical frame was not as strong as it used to be, though his mind was as sharp as ever.  Task...

A Jewish Rip van Winkle? This first story was quite interesting.  I myself have fantasized about sleeping for a long time, long enough to pass all the heartache and trials of life, but wake up to a kind of utopia like Rabbi Onias.  I don't think this is right though, I feel like it would have been better to have faced the trails and even to have helped rebuild Jerusalem. The story of "A king for three days" is interesting because it was much more modern (relatively) and deals with a more modern day example of Jewish folklore (i.e., real life historical figures).  However, the premise seemed a little contrived, I don't think that it was very realistic for a hardened christian general to seek out the blessing (or curse) of a Rabbi. The next story is actually one of my favorite funny little bible stories about Abraham and Sarah.  In the Bible version, Abraham similarly lies to Pharaoh, but when he finds out, he is hurt and angry that Abraham deceived him.  There ...

The first story, about the giant and the flood was very interesting, it was not something that I had encountered before.  I thought it was interesting how this introduced phoenixes into the mythology, as well as alcohol, as explanations for why they are what they are. The story of the Beggar King is somewhat reminiscent of the story of "The Prince and the Pauper" where a somewhat similar situation takes place.  I wonder if it was inspired by this story. I find some mythological explanations for certain events quite interesting and clever, but I have to say that the reason given in this story of cats and dogs to be a little disappointing.  Dogs and cats hate each other because cats are jerks?  I guess that is true, but I couldn't help feel like there should be more to this story. The story of the water-babe was quite interesting.  I had never heard of the backstory of Jethro, and although his conversion to Judaism seems implausible, I like the idea of him usin...