Starting a new topic to prevent derailing another thread (the quote source).

Yes, I'm very familiar with the books... I've read them all multiple times. To put it mildly, they've helped me consciously recognize the way I look at the world, validating a large part of my personality (!). Wisdom is scattered through the whole series... Richard's speeches especially make me think (a good thing). Goodkind is easily my favorite author. As for the first rule, have you read my signature?


I had read mention of a mini-series based on the novels, but didn't know about it being Disney or it having been changed to a regular TV show, until looking into it today (thanks for the heads up). http://www.terrygoodkind.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=74

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Well, I haven't played Morrowind so I can't comment on the locations, but the SoT map reminds me more of Europe (New World) and Asia / Africa (Old World). The linked Morrowind map is an island...

I have no idea what your second post here is trying to say... religion has nothing to do with the SoT series (and is off-limits on the Nexus). The books have themes pertaining to cutting all the flowery phrases and getting to the rational truth, directly and clearly. Here's another quote from WFR for you:

The truth is meant to be understood using the human faculty of reason, our primary tool of survival. When I see something presented appearing as an attempt to "inspire" belief, my first rule defensive instinct kicks in... I'm wary of believing something because I want to, instead of based on the plain, basic, rational merits of the subject matter. I prefer a direct approach to things instead of anything obscured behind a creative presentation. If you expect me to get anything out of what you're trying to communicate then you'll have to be more clear / direct.


Note: I have no idea who / what "Shebulba" is.

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I don't know why you say Mother, Father... instead of the actual real english meaning familiar to everyone. Speaking your own language is not the way to communicate effectively.

That being said, I did not see one point in your post here that pertains to any themes within Terry Goodkind's SoT series (a subject I'm very familiar with). I think I understand what you're trying to say, but I don't see much other than meaningless jibberish. Light, dark, quantum influences... sounds like you're struggling with the nature of consciousness. My advice: don't. There are no useful answers, only threats to sanity... especially when ego gets involved (like your posts suggest). Life is the standard of all values. You only get one. Don't waste it on meaningless pursuits.

Wisdom is learned, but there are no limits to its growth. Gravity is a force bound by the objective laws of the natural world. The future is not knowable by humans. Human perception is limited to five senses. There is no such thing as perfect vision. Imagination is not a means of finding truth. Life is not a single entity, nor does it have a single consciousness, it is a phenomenon of matter and energy working in a biological machine (with possibly an extra unknown ingredient...). Humanity is not a single entity. Human beings are individual life forms with their own perspectives. Individual lives do not rely on truth, only reality.

Nathan is not persecuted in the books. He is simply locked up for a crime that the Sisters fear he might commit because he has a certain ability. Their fear leads them to believe a lie: that Nathan is dangerous. Their guilt makes them treat him well (within his posh prison). Magic (in the books) is a metaphor... it is not real.

To answer your PM,
I have not read "Earths Children Series(Jean.M. Aul)". It sounds like you would enjoy Frank Herbert's "Dune" series (if you heven't read it).

Oh, and my favorite meal is a nice thick grilled piece of Top Sirloin. Humanity may not have a full understanding of reality, but that doesn't mean that irrational fears are justified.

K

Another quote (one of my favorites)...

"The only sovereign I can allow to rule me is reason. The first law of reason is this: what exists, exists; what is, is. From this irreducible, bedrock principle, all knowledge is built. This is the foundation from which life is embraced.
Reason is a choice. Wishes and whims are not facts, nor are they a means to discovering them. Reason is our only way of grasping reality - it's our basic tool of survival. We are free to evade the effort of thinking, to reject reason, but we are not free to avoid the penalty of the abyss we refuse to see."
-Terry Goodkind (Faith of the Fallen)

"It does the sheep no good to preach the goodness of a diet of grass, if the wolves are of a different mind." ---
from -Terry Goodkind's Nathan (Stone of Tears)

:^) Pass the lentils and rice please.

Another one from Stone of Tears:
“... the greatest harm can result from the best intentions. It sounds a paradox, but kindness and good intentions can be an insidious path to destruction. Sometimes doing what seems right is wrong, and can cause harm. The only counter to it is knowledge, wisdom, forethought, and understanding the first rule…”
“Good intentions, being kind, can encourage the lazy, and motivate sound minds to become indolent. The more help you give them, the more help they need. As long as your kindness is open-ended, they never gain discipline, dignity, or self-reliance. Your kindness impoverishes their humanity.”

Yes in my life it is much like the curse of comfort. The sweet poison of satisfaction not earned. Like a honey cake that was stolen from a hungry child or pennies for lies. Such comfort is sweet poison that may also be a means to an end. Beware the comfort zones.

Now that I have reached the first part of book 4 I have decided that perhaps IMHO the most valuable and tragic human tool of any kingdom in the world spun by Terry so far is the Mord-Sith. I have great respect for these warriors and the value imbued by this master of educational literature. Mr. Goodkind is able to let us hate so completely an idea and or a type of "evil" so that when we then come to respect this aspect of reality we learn how to "see" in a new way our own prejudices, attitudes and flaws.

How many of Terry's books will be burned by religious people who's dogma will never let them "see"?

Thank you Sharkull for posting this topic and sharing a great resource.

You might ask how dare I use Terry's first name as though I were familiar with this esteemed author. I think it's because he has shared some thing important with me. I have never read these books before and yet in some passages it is as if prophesy is spun into my mind. paramnesia has me by the throat and the heart at once as I learn from this mans work. It is because my future is tied to the learning and my past is bound to this learning by precognition. As I said and deleted I am not good at describing temporal realities.

Many of you out there have tasted temporal awareness. Some will deny it by rote. Some will wonder about it. Some will fear it. And some like me will embrace it. I have lived nightmares; The same one more than once. I know that this author has walked the walk. So I have the utmost respect for his work and I will buy his books.

I stumbled across a library of his audio works when I was looking for some socks of all things in a pile of boxes. I am listening to some of the best information imparted in a way that is highly palatable. Like medicine flavored with dark chocolate it is enticing and palliative to the soul all at once.

I have said that I am that that is. I have said that we all are That that is.
Well Terry Goodkind may well be described as That that has been and still is. By this I mean an old soul. One does not shine thus without wisdom gained from doing and being. I do reserve the right to say beware such wisdom. There is no substitute for application when learning and no way to gain wisdom without living.

I also reserve the right to type:
Blessed be

You're very welcome.


Denna, Cara, Raina, Berdine and the rest of the Mord Sith are great characters. First soldiers for the enemy, then seen as the victims... created via inhuman treatment by a tyrant. Recruited by the hero to fight for his cause by inspiring them to believe in it.

My favorite "tool" of TG's world is the power of a Confessor. Absolute truth drawn forth by the power of love. What a useful thing the whole truth is... people speak it so rarely these days.


Not possible. Read the first rule again. Time is linear (at least, the human experience is limited to linear time) and therefore the future is unknowable.

xxx

pepper is dieing

Pepper had a stroke
He is recovering.
I am recovering.
I retract what I said about being like Nathan.
I am not fit to lick Nathans boots.

But I am that that is.
Many manipulations are put in place to influence humanity.
DES(Diethylstilbestrol) was one of them. I am a male child of such an experiment.
I am but one of tens of thousands of people who's mothers where given a powerful drug during their pregnancy to "avoid miscarriage".

My brain was formed in an environment that was
influenced by this effeminization.
And so I am abomination.
How poetic a tragedy and manipulation.
I have what they want.
I had no protection or understanding of the power.
I am a tool.
God and Goddess forgive me.

I do not want him to suffer.
I do not want his death to hold fear.
I do not want his life to mean pain.

He is a much better person than me.
He has woke me from hell just in time.
He has prevented me from being a fool and a corpse more times than I know.
He has earned a Golden afterlife and if it is available an incarnation into a sweet world of love.
I have had a conversation with him and I have told him what I believe.
I believe he can be free.
I released him from any obligation to me.
I told him I will not let him suffer.
If you had been here you would know like I know that he understands me.
He deserves to be free and not to stay here if he is going to have to suffer to stay.
He has let me know that he understands me.
If he can not go out and pee or poo within 5 more days we are going to part our ways.
We are going to let go together in love.
He is the sweetest soul I have had the privileged to know.
I Love my sweet puppy so...

Peppers Song. ;^(

Focusing on things you cannot change is unproductive and a waste. Think of solutions, not the problem. Here's another Goodkind quote (From The Pillars of Creation): “Life is the future, not the past.”

...and sorry to hear about your dog.

Pepper is walking again and I have rescinded the diagnosis of the VET. He has Canine idiopathic vestibular disease. I still think this was not a coincidence considering what I was typing when it struck. He is very old for a big dog. I have a hard decision to make soon. I know what must be, so that my old friend will not suffer any more.

Any way: The Character I most identify with, so far as (Soul of the Fire_Page 311) would be Fitch. He was honorable if misled and quick of wit. I was a dish washer for years and I too was humiliated at by a my boss. More importantly, I was misused and manipulated to do things I would never have done otherwise.

RE:sot.wikia.com
Sword of Truth Wiki this sight needs help. Much of what is needed can be found here.
http://www.literaturewriters.com/view-19-Goodkind-Terry.php But I warn you if you use this resource to steal from Terry he will know and his Gars will seek out your avatars and eat them.
More good data:http://www.terrygoodkind.com/


Sky Spot Light by SunsetSailor
Click the pic to see more from SunsetSailor AT www.wunderground.com. If you like beauty and nature go and look for Approver's Choice
Feed some chipmunks. :,^(

Wow, one of those links looks like the full text of the books... I wonder how they get away with that legally. I don't need that though... I have them all (some of them well worn from reading ) and I wrote out / typed up some of my favorite quotes a long time ago. Hmm... lets see what I have for SotF. Ah, only the Rule, and you've just read it (two pages ago).

Yea, its nice to have the whole text digitally available. That sight is not easily searched though. I'm well into Faith of the Fallen today. I am enjoying the frustration of the Emperor as Nicci had a taste of freedom at his expense.

I think the ladies may have a big surprise for him soon.


Update: I love First Wizard Zeddicus Zul Zorander

my favorite quote of his so far





"Warren picked up a small rock" OMG!

Nicci is a great character in this book. The journey of self improvement she takes is inspiring (although her method is not ideal).

This is such a deep textbook of timeless wisdom. I am gushing, I know but wow. If my social studies class had made this book available I might just have gotten an A rather than the D I settled for. At least it should be suggested reading.

I have railed against a comfort that is a trap and here, so clearly illustrated, stands an entire Provence, fictional though it may be, in just that same poisonous comfort zone's aftermath. Toxic charity is a stark reality. I see communism vs capitalism and help vs charity and piece vs peace with new eyes. Blindness is often just another form of perception, perhaps even self deception.

Beyond the social studies lesson is the clear civics lesson. The unemployment office and every food stamps office should give away free copies of Terry Goodkind's Faith of the Fallen. I proclaim this book the light of that that is. I do this with no little power. I am that that is and so are all of us. LOL

How many schools are waiting for paperwork to be done so that cracked walls can be fixed and stinking bath rooms can be repaired by the proper laborers. things are getting better but we have a long way to go. I love this sweet book.

BUT, Terry could have stopped and made his point without rubbing my nose in it. If he had stopped just after the point was maid and then later the boys showed up... I would have gotten the message without gettin rubbed the wrong way.

Richard was just being Richard. He wasn't rubbing anything in anyone's face. He was trying to teach a life lesson to some youngsters while making the best of a bad situation.

Hmm it seemed to me that Richard was being Terry more than Richard in that scene.

The pillars of creation is perhaps the greatest lesson wrapped in fantasy. The balance to providence is free will.

If providence is not the truth of that that is then free will will make it right.
If the truth becomes the lie because of change then the seeds of reason will rip through the fabric of creation in order to make things right.

Like I have said so many times we are that that is(the razors edge of time!....??)
we decide that that will be.

We stand on the razors edge of time.
We Taste raw reality and we decide.
We are that that is and we are the truth!

In this book I was Jennson. I would do what I would not do because of a lie. But I would choose truth above the lie or I would die... Perhaps now I can choose truth.
In the credits or dedications for this book is the secret forces of the United States of America. I have some faith in these but I do not trust blindly what has been done! I fear what may come because what has been done was a deception. If you do not taste this fear then you are not truly alive..

Richard is Terry's "romantic" (link) personification of the ultimate human hero. Morally consistent, reasonable, strong, wise... yet fallible.

Interesting that you like PoC so much (it is my least favorite of the series). For some reason I just couldn't relate to Jennsen (perhaps because I didn't want to, or perhaps because I had already changed the way I look at things due to reading the previous books... or maybe just because it followed the exceptional FotF and didn't include any familiar characters). It does have some funny parts though (Betty...), and I think Tom is a great character.


Fear is a tool, but beware of the first rule: don't be deceived because of it.

Choosing the truth is easy. Identifying what is the truth is what's hard, and that must be done first.

The Pillars of Creation
the two siblings of Richard where a bit hard to deal with. I can understand why you might have had trouble with Jennson Rahl. She was so naive to believe in that the slimy con artist is for real

but Oba Rahl is excellent in conception. His "baseline of morality" is skewed so perfectly as Terry has capture the nature of the deviation so well.

The wagon to the rescue was a bit much near the end and I had to suspend my sense of reality more than once but I believe the lesson that rationality trumps blind faith and that lies tend to be weak when "that that is" touches them, is valid as I see it.

I am well into Chainfire now all I can say is Ooops???

Below is a
Photo by toptag
and a small part of that that is. Reality on the razors edge of time.

« previous image Back to gallery | next image »

I still believe in those things I have been taught about My Lord. But I now have the expanse of Terry's vision as a tool of experience and wisdom. I might be well served to my devotion to my Lord as the characters in the book have Lord Rahl the leader of D'Hara. I have my Lord the savior of Earths Humanity. The Covens of "magic" in the book are much like the truth of the power of the coven and law that my lord has championed. I do not act with blind faith. I have tested this relationship and I have never found fault in my Lord.

I would suggest if one wants to really enjoy this series and if one intends to read each book in order and if there is an abridged versions of most of the titles get them.. Terry has done a commendable job making each book self contained up to the last 3, but if you are going to read them all them I say get the abridged versions.

Wow It took me 18 days to absorb these. But I know I am going to have to go back and read these again. One of the most notable things about these works is how they are not cliff hangers until you get to the 3part ending.

I would like to think that Magic is still alive. I know that not all of what humanity calls fact is fact. I believe that science is far from perfect. Our technology is more knowledge than wisdom. Free will has to be strong enough to overcome self fulfilling prophecy or humanity will not thrive in this garden of life. Rational thought has do be a dynamic force in our society so that tyranny and apathy can be held at bay.

But most of all I see convenience and comfort at the cost of efficiency and excellence to be the greatest threats to human dignity in our times. Let us be the truth lest we become that that is not...

You people are fed up with me saying that that is.
I think the indigenous peoples of the world often die at great cost to humanity. I know the wisdom of indigenous peoples has value. I Know that technology is no excuse for destroying truth. I know humanity is suffering from lack of wisdom and truth. When is it ever OK to kill a people who know their land? Let us learn to grant sovereignty as a write to those we meat who do not mean us harm!

The most valuable treasure in any new land is the knowledge earned by the indigenous people of that land. The greatest goal of exploration in this universe should be wisdom. Let us seek truth and wisdom with out guile. Let us seek first cooperation with indigenous life. What we learn might save us from our selves and bring enlightenment.
Blessed be.

Re-reading the books is a great idea... it allows you to hear Terry's message more clearly when you don't have to worry about where the plot is going.

If you really like the themes of these books, I would also suggest two novels by Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. They are two true masterpieces of literature, even though a couple things in them are a bit dated (IMO).

Ah, I too have this series and have enjoyed it immensely a few times. I have also given it out as gifts.

Thank you for the news on the upcoming series. I hadn't looked at his site in a while.

I would also recommend Brian Lumley for his Necroscope series.

I'm really interested to see what TG does with mainstream fiction...
http://www.terrygoodkind.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3571

Edit: I hope it's not politically loaded... that would be... distracting.

Sorry for the double/necro-post... but I wanted to share the news. The Sword of Truth TV series has a new name, and trailers are available here:
http://www.legendoftheseeker.com/


As seen on the linked page, the premiere is Nov. 1st... I can't wait (and I hope it's shown on a channel I get...)!