A Rose by Any Other Name

O! be some other a name: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, if he were not Romeo called... -Romeo and Juliet, Act II, scene II

Garden Rose, photo by Julie O. /chthonickore

That may be true in one sense, but what if the name change was to a word not so flattering, such as Romeo to Gollum or rose to lacerator (because of the thorns)? Does a name affect its object, or the object its name? It is most likely that both do to a certain extent. 

The word rose comes from Latin rosa, probably from Greek rhodon "rose"(Aeolic / Lesbic dialect wrodon), probably ultimately from or related to the Iranian root *vrda- . Vard is "rose", from OIran. *urda. So, in these cases, a rose by another name is, in fact, still a rose, even if it has another name. Rose is a rosa, is a rhodon, is a vard.

   Not a Rose - photo by Julie O. /chthonickore  

What if we called a rose "orchid" instead? Would it smell as sweet? 


Orchid is from Latin orchis, meaning a kind of orchid, from Greek orkhis "orchid", literally "testicle", from PIE *orghi-, the standard root for "testicle". Named after the shape of the roots.

I dub thee "testicle", you're welcome.

I suppose roses would still smell good if they were called orchids(some orchids smell good), but perhaps the reputation of the flower would be tarnished in some way if we actually named it "testicle". . . Give your sweetheart two dozen testes for Valentine's Day? Humm, probably not. 

Of course there is some reason for an orchid to be called "orchid", and not for a rose to be called "orchid". Words have histories. Sometimes those stories are hidden, as in the case of orchid(which in this case is fortunate), but they are not usually completely arbitrary. 

Maybe Juliet should thank her lucky stars that she wasn't named after a flower since she is so willing to be flippant. Perhaps she might have been named Rose herself, and what if we then changed her name to Orchid instead? Orchids are very beautiful. They would probably make a great namesake if only they were named after something less. . . hairy.

               Some Hairy Coconuts 

Testicle or Testis comes from Latin testis "testicle". It is usually said to derive its meaning from testis "witness", "presumably because it 'bears witness to male virility' [Barnhart]"Online Etymological Dictionary, as one suggested meanings. In the Greek there is a similar connection, parastatai is "testicles" and parastates is "one that stands by". 

But Buck thinks Greek parastatai "testicles" has wrongly been associated with the legal sense of parastates "supporter, defender" and suggests instead parastatai in the sense of twin "supporting pillars, props of a mast," etc. - Online Etymology Dictionary, testis (n.)

Interesting, let's get back to that in a second. But first... 

There is also another interesting theory. And perhaps there might be truth in both. 

OED, meanwhile points to Wald's suggestion of a connection between testis and testa "pot, shell, etc." - Online Etymology Dictionary, testis (n.)

Testum / Testa is "pot, shell" in Latin. Testicles are sometimes called nuts, and they do resemble walnut shells.

Walnuts

The Ancient Egyptian goddess Nut / Nuit (Nwt), the goddess of the sky was sometimes depicted with a pot crown / headdress. 

Nut, (image )Wikipedia

                                                                  

Nut the goddess of the sky has a testum for her crown. And this is what is said of Nut.

Her arms and legs were imagined to be the pillars of the sky. and hands and feet were thought to touch the four cardinal points at the horizon. -thekeep.org, Nut, Sky Goddess, Mother of the Gods

It is even reasonable to think that a transliteration of some form of chet spoken aloud could come out to something sounding like "testa / is", even though it doesn't look that way on the surface. 

Chet / Heth is a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Chet is a guttural letter. The sound is produced at the back of the throat and sounds something like "eight/h-ate". In fact it is sometimes represented in English by the letter H, as in Hanukkah, rather than Ch as in Chanukah, and it, in fact represents the number 8 in gematria.[It is even reasonable to think that a transliteration of some form of chet spoken aloud could come out to something sounding like "testa/is" to Latin speakers, even though it doesn't look that way on the surface. Things like that happen all the time when languages collide.]

Heth / Chet

Chet has very much to do with the meaning "life", as in chayyim, also, chaim, hayim, Haim. As you can see the letter has some resemblance to an 8 or a ladder, and also pillars or a gate written in script. Could these be like witnesses? And witnesses that have to do with giving life, as are testicles, the twins of the male reproductive system?

Chet looks a lot like the symbol for Gemini. Gemini is from Latin "twins". The, so called, silver Gate(G8 / G-eight / G-chet) of the heavens, or the Gate of Man. This gate lies between Taurus, the bull, and Gemini. 

♊️

       Gemini Astrological Symbol

                                                         

Also, speaking of the goddess Nut again, 

Far underneath her lay the earth god, Geb. . . She was also described as a cow goddess, taking on some of the attributes of Hathor. Geb was described as the 'Bull of Nut' in the Pyramid texts. As as a great, solar cow, she was thought to have carried Ra up into the heavens on her back(*as a ladder/stairway to heaven), after he retired from his rule on earth . . . At other times, she was just portrayed as a woman wearing her sign - a particular design of an Egyptian pot on her head... " -thekeep.org, Nut, Sky Goddess, Mother of the Gods,*my addition

So, Nut is associated with this cow of heaven. As the goddess in this form she is said to be supported by the eight Heh gods... or the Heh eight... Chet gods, huh?

 Heavenly Cow, from Tomb of Seti I

Which makes me wonder... If Nut had her testa (pots) knocked off her head, would she be Nut-ered (Neutered)? Think about it. If no one was watching there wouldn't be any testis (witness).

Nut was, in fact, also associated with the Maqet, a ladder symbol, as well, which looks very similar to the pictograph chet.

As a goddess of the dead, in the Old Kingdom it was believed that the deceased could climb up to her after death. Utterance 474 of the Pyramid texts state that, "N. goes therewith to his mother Nut; N. climbs upon her, in this her name of 'Ladder'". Maqet(m3qt) was the ancient Egyptian word for 'ladder'. -thekeep.org, Nut, Sky Goddess, Mother of the Gods

And where does this ladder take you? To the heavens after you finish your earthly life. It carries you to the next and new life. 

Nut is also associated with the sacred tree, "Lady of the Sycamore". The Sycamore, then, was a Nut tree.

   Tree Goddess in Sennedjem's Tomb at Luxor 

"The Osiris Ani saith:- Hail, thou Sycamore tree of the goddess Nut!..." The Book of the Dead(The Book of Coming Forth by Day)

In Hebrew mysticism (Kabbala) there is the "Tree of Life" or Etz haChayim, also the known as the 10 Sephirot. So like Nut, the tree (etz) being of chayim also calls to mind the ladder (maqet) as the letter chet, in chayim. 

Remember when Adam and Eve were cast out of heaven, their way to the tree of life was cut off. You might say their Nut was taken away, or their Nut(s) were cut off from them. They were chastised. Castigated. Castrated from heaven even, maybe we could say chastated or casticised.

After Sending them out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24, NLT

But in Jacob's dream he saw a ladder to heaven (Nut), and with God above it. So in his case he had his Nut's back (for the angels to ascend and descend upon). 

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! Genesis 28:12  NASB

Sometimes the traditions of the Tree of Life and the World Tree merge. And, similarly to Nut, as the pillar of the heavens and cardinal points on the zodiac, the world tree is associated with the axis-mundi (world axis), or cosmic axis, and is the immovable center pillar of the universe, around which the zodiac travels.

 Nut as depicted as the Sky / Heavens

So, I guess we could say that, in a sense, the testicles could be seen as nuts on the tree of life, and the witnesses (testis) at the Gate of Man? So the testicles are at the stairway to heaven? ..."Cuz you know sometimes words have two meanings... Ooh, it makes me wonder." -Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin 

When you think about it like that though, maybe an orchid should be proud that it's named after its testicles, amirite? Heh, who would have thought that "orchid" could pack such meaning? Thats really Nuts!

O! be some other name: What's in a name? That which we call a testicle by any other name would be as hairy. So Romeo would, if he were not Romeo called...

Hmm, nah.  I think we should stay with rose, ... orchid even.

I Said I Was Sorry . . .

Say you're sorry . . .  Can you make a person say that they are sorry? Does it have any meaning if it is not heartfelt? 

Sorry is from Old English sarig "distressed, grieved, full of sorrow," from Proto-Germanic *sairiga- "painful", from *sairaz "pain." However, in English it is often used as a polite remark even when such emotions are not present. In this way not unlike, "excuse me", "pardon me", or "I apologize", all of which have the connotation of asking for forgiveness. 

When people are truly sorry they feel distress resulting from their behavior. This suffering is usually felt first as mental anguish. If a person is not personally sorry because of their actions, they may become "sorry" due to punishment. You can make somebody sorry they did something because of this punishment, but you can't make someone regret what they did to the other person for the other person's sake. They may be sorry because they are sore (bodily), but still glad (not sorry) about what they did to the other person. In fact they may feel quite sore at the other person, but not really sorry for what they did.

Sore (adj.) is from Old English sar "painful, grievous, aching, sad, wounding", influenced in meaning by Old Norse sarr "sore, wounded," from Proto-Germanic *saira "suffering, sick, ill".

So, when someone is sore because of punishment, we could call this saira-tion (making to be ill, sore-ation). Serrate is from Latin serratus "sawlike, notched like a saw".

The Eighteenth Floor of Hell(Diyu), Chamber of the Saw

The notches on saws are like mountain peaks, such as the Sierra (from Latin serra "saw") Nevada mountains. These peaks are sharp looking. Peaked mountain tops are chief among mountains, being the highest. see horns: Be Fruitful and Multiply

In biblical Hebrew sar is "chief, ruler, official, captain, prince," and sarah is "noble lady, princess." Compare this to, Old English sar (wounding), Proro-Germanic *saira (suffering), and *sairaz (pain). Why would "ruler" and "noble lady" have an association with suffering, sickness or illness? 

One possibility would be that the sar (chief) or Sarah (noble lady) is the inflicter of sar (wounding), *saira (suffering), or *saira (suffering). They might have the power to do this because of their highness, their Royal Highness. Because they are at the top, they might come off as sharp while pronouncing judgements, and they are even peaked (wearing a crown). 

    Theodora Queen of Arta Icon, Peaked with a Serrated Crown

The goddess that is represented by a snake (Uraeus) in Ancient Egypt was called Wadjet. She was known as The Lady of the Houses of Flame (pr nsr, or perneser(punisher?), also the Eye of Ra, and Nesert "searing one", among other titles. She was represented as the shinning fiery serpent goddess. She was powerful; a symbol of power and protection often worn on the pharaoh's crown. Power can be used to punish the wicked. This does not make the punisher bad, necessarily, if the "punishment" purifies (pyro-fies) and directs one toward the good. see Testing, one, two, three

And I will bring the third part through the fire and, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested . . . Zechariah 13:9

    Uraei with Sun Disks, Reverse side of the throne of Tutankhamen (1346-1337 BCE)

To the Hebrews, who had come out of Egypt(therefore familiar with this concept of the goddess, Wadjet), this powerful  sarah (i.e. Lady of Flame) became painfully present to them in the nachash seraphim; the so called fiery/bitting (seraphim) serpents (nachash) that God sent as punishment to the complaining Israelites. After they were bitten by the nachash seraphim, the Israelites become sorry (sera-y, touched by the seraph), didn't they? Then YHWH instructed Moses to make a seraph and put it on a pole (nes). So, Moses made a representation of a seraph; a nachash nechosheth, i.e., serpent of bronze (not unlike the Egyptians's depictions of the goddess/power, Wadjet), and when the Israelites looked upon it they were healed. In this way, they were healed by the very thing which inflicted the suffering upon them to begin with. 

    Fyodor Bruni, Nehushtan, 1841 (Nehushtan; the bronze serpent idol[nachash nechosheth])

There is a similar word in Hebrew to seraphim transliterated as serappim "anxious / diquieting thoughts." When someone is guilty of doing wrong they often are plagued by disquieting thoughts. Pangs of conscience are a kind of message from God that you have done wrong. Maybe these disquieting thoughts (serappim) are named after the messengers or angels which transmit them on behalf of God, i.e., the seraphim/seraphs the "burning ones" who behold the face of God.

    Depiction of a Saraphim Angel

Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried out to another and said "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts [YHWH Sabaoth]. The whole earth is full of his glory." 

And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the sound of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live amoung a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." 

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with thongs from the altar. With it he touched my lips and said," See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Isaiah 6:2-7 NAS 

God interacts with people through his messengers like the seraph with the burning coal in the passage above. It is clear that Isaiah was sorry for his uncleanliness in the presence of the LORD, and he was not punished for this offense. If he had not been sorry and humbled in the presence of the LORD what would have happened then? Would the seraph had made him sorry through some sort of suffering? 

"It's Beautiful!" . . . uh oh.

    Angel of Death, Raiders of the Lost Arc (1981)

If a person is not sorry for what they have done, is there any good in saying, "I'm sorry"? What is gained through a forced recitation of the words? It can be humiliating for the person who is not sorry to have to say that they are sorry, but is the resulting ill feeling constructive?. What should be said, for example, when a playmate is annoying you because you want his toy and he won't give it to you, so you hit him? A grownup comes in and says, "Tell him that you are sorry." "Sorry," you say in order to not get in trouble, but you don't mean it. 

Adventure Time, Season 5, "Bad Timing"

Why not be honest and say how you feel? Like, "I hit you because I'm angry." That's the beginning of a dialogue that could possibly end in a sincere apology. Right? You should probably only say sorry when you really mean it, when you wish you had not done the thing, when you are actually grieved by what you have done. If a person is in the wrong and not sorry for it they will probably be visited by those angels of conscience (serappim) and maybe be scared into a sincere (sin-sar? grieved by sin) sorry, like the Israelites in the desert. It's the mental feeling of illness, that the (burning) guilt of sin brings on, that can cause a change of heart. Receiving physical punishment does not necessarily produce this result. Not all "sorry"s are equal.

And what about saying sorry when you are not really distressed or full of sorrow because of what you have done? It seems we use this world rather liberally in the English language, and it is somewhat removed from its original context. However, this does not necessarily make it wrong to say it for that reason . . .

If I have made any unintended mistakes in this post, I'm sorry. 

Salt of the Earth

Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. Mark 9:49-50

  Salted with Fire, janrichardsonimages.com, The Painted Prayerbook

What does this mean, to "be salted with fire"? 

To be salted can mean "to be seasoned". Maybe it makes sense to think of it like that, every one will be "seasoned" with fire. Season(v.) is from Old French assaisoner "to ripen, season". So if a person is salted it might mean he or she is ripened or brought to full potential. To be brought to full potential with fire is a kind of testing or trial which purifies (pyro-fies) like clay pots put in a kiln and precious metals in a fire.

And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. . . Zachariah 13:9

In Greek hala αλα, halas αλας is "salt".

Is one who is salted or seasoned with hala (salt) holy? Holy is from Old English halig "holy, consecrated, sacred, godly". From Proto-Germanic *hailaga. We are called to be holy and we are also called to be the salt of the earth.

   Madonna and Child. A Holy Salty Pair.

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Mt. 5:13

Salt is used to preserve and flavor food. It is also often used in ritual.

You are to offer them before the LORD, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burt offering to the LORD. Ezekiel 43:24

Does the  hala (salt) help to make the food halig (holy)? 

Salt preserves food and helps to make it complete in taste, make present the whole flavor, and in that sense, it is fit for royalty. It might even be considered to be angelic, holy, transformed, compared to bland unsalted (unholy, or un-hala) food.

    Fish in Salt

It is interesting that certain words used for greeting are similar to words for salt.

Hail (compare with hala[salt], hello) as "salutation in greeting" is from Old Norse heill "health, prosperity, good luck". If those who are salty are those who have been purified, then wouldn't this mean that they were healthy (hala-thy)?

Those who are healthy are those who are whole, or perhaps whole-y.

Health is from Old English hælp "wholeness, a being whole, sound or well." From Proto-Germanic *hailitho, from Pie *kailo- "whole, uninjured, of good omen".  Cognate Old English hal "hale, whole", Old English halig, Old English hælan "to heal".

Helen in Greek is Helene, probably the feminine form of helenos meaning "the bright one". Helen was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. She must have been quite healthy, and since she was beautiful would have been considered to be, perhaps, tasty . . . so was she salty?

  Helen on the Trojan Ramparts,Gustave Moreau, 1826- 1898. - Helen of Troy - beautiful and bright, like an angel.

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Illium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss. Her lips suck forth my soul; see where it flies! -- Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips, and all is dross that is not Helena. -Christopher Marlow, Doctor Faustus, The Harvard Classics, Scene XIII, ln. 88-94

Bright can mean intelligent, it can also mean something very shiny like the angels who are bright, holy, and whole which makes them salty (and probably intelligent).

    Angelic Energy, ashtarcommand crew.net

Salutations is ultimately from Latin salutationem "a greeting, saluting".

Perhaps we might say when greeting someone, "Salt!", or "Salt-utations!", or "salute-tations ", as well, since it is a good thing to be salty.

In Hebrew "salt" is melach, "angel" is malak," king" is melek, and "to become king or queen, to reign" malak. So again there is a similarity in the word for salt and also words meaning the kind of people who might be salty, whole or holy, namely angels, royalty, or the gods.

  Pala dei Linaioli(detail), by Fra Angelico

The English word natron is a French cognate from the Spanish natrón , from the Greek nitron. This, in turn, is from the Ancient Egyptian ntry "natrón". Natron was taken from dry lake beds in Ancient Egypt. It was used as a cleaning product domestically and for the body, in burial rituals and mummification. It was also used for fish and meat preservation, among other uses. 

It is interesting that the Ancient Egyptian word for gods / divine was very similar, ntr (neter). The gods (neter) were the royalty of the underworld / afterworld / neterworld. They would be the salty ones, would they not?

   Osiris, Lord/King of the Dead, God of Re-birth. One of the ntr

So, perhaps salt was named with the intent of meaning something "divine" or "of / like the gods". 

We might take salt for granted because it is so readily available to us, but try to imagine life without salt . . . it would be pretty bland. Life would also be pretty bland without salty people, but they are readily available to us as well. In fact you can be one yourself. You ARE the salt of the earth! Don't become tasteless. God is in you and all around you. Don't take that for granted. Act accordingly.

Om Nama Shivaya 

Rascally Rabbits

Rabbit is from late 14c., "young of the coney", from the French robète, diminutive of flemish or Middle Dutch robbe "rabbit". Of unknown origin according to the online etymology dictionary. 

It is interesting, however, that in Arabic RaBBat is "lady, mistress, female idol". Rabbits are known for their prolific breading habits (a mother rabbit can have forty or more babies a year), and, thus, symbolize fertility, abundance and the cycle of life which is very yin / feminine symbolism. 

    A Rabbit and a RaBBat. . . (they should do this in chocolate!)

In fact "rabbit / coney" in Hebrew is shaphan which is linguistically similar to the Hebrew saphan "treasure", and shepha "abundance".

    Abundant Colored Eggs

Robe (similar to the Dutch robe "rabbit") is from Old French robe "long, loose outer garment", from West Germanic *raubo "booty". 

Well, booty is treasure, and sometimes abundant treasure. So a rabbit which symbolizes abundance is possibly named from a word with connotations of abundance, and people make garments out of rabbit skin, sometimes robes, or blankets.

Bye, oh baby bunting. Daddy's gone a hunting. To fetch a little rabbit skin. To wrap his baby bunting in.

Daddy fetches a rabbit (shaphan) skin to wrap(or robe) his treasure (saphan, i.e., his baby) in.

     Full Skin Rabbit Fur Coat, furoutlet.com

Eostre is a Germanic female goddess of fertility and springtime. Therefore, we could say she is a RaBBAT, and rightly associated with rabbits.

    Eostre 

Easter is from Old English easterdæg, from Eastre (Northumbrian Eostre), from Proto Germanic *austron- "dawn", from *aust- "east", literally "toward the sunrise".

Easter is celebrated the Sunday after the first full (pregnant) moon after the spring equinox. The vernal equinox is the time when the hours of light during a day begin to take precedence over the hours of darkness. It is a time of newness, new life, and resurrection. It is the dawn of the zodiacal year when the sun moves from Pisces (12th sign) to Aries (1st sign; the ram at its beginning, i.e., a lamb).

    A Baby Ram

In Greek Easter is known as Lambros / Lampros translated as "shining, bright", like the eastern horizon, and dawn of the day. It is the glorious rising of the sun. It is the kind of brightness that only comes after experiencing darkness. . . it is the morning! Resurrection! Salvation!!

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:23

East is ultimately from PIE *aus- (1) "to shine", especially of the dawn. Cognate with Greek aurion "morning". 

Venus is the bright, shining (east-er) morning star (dawn star), and the name of the Roman Goddess of love, sex and beauty. Her counterpart in Greek is Aphrodite. Here she is depicted in lambros "shining, bright" marble.

    Crouching Aphrodite, Louvre Museum

Ishtar (Innana in Sumerian) is the Assyrian / Akkadian / Babylonian goddess of love, sex, war and fertility. A possible origin of her name is from the stem Assur, meaning "leading one, chief"(like the morning?). She was the divine personification of the planet Venus. Her symbol was the eight-pointed star which signified the planet Venus(eight points to emphasize its abundant shininess?). In Sanskrit "eight" is astau. The Greek name for Ishtar was Astarte. So perhaps the Greeks named Ishtar after her symbol, the eight pointed star, rather than after her shininess (Eoster/Easter).

In Hebrew "eight" is shemoneh or shemonah, and sheman is "fatness, or fertile place," shamen is "fat, robust, rich". Fertile and fat. That sounds pregnant. Even the look of the number 8 is pregnant. The number eight is similar in appearance to the infinity sign, which we might say is a eight on its side (giving birth?) 

Infinity is the womb of creation and, therefore, a womb of abundance. Fertility and abundance is also symbolized by those. . . rascally rabbits.

In this way the infinity sign could be thought of as a yin / feminine type of symbol, and perhaps even a symbol representing the "fertile place" sheman, which is, the female goddesses, or the RaBBat, Eoster / Ishtar / Astarte / Venus, who heralds (or we might say, gives birth to) the new day, the day of resurrection. . . 

Easter!

And the Truth. . .

. . . "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free" . . . "Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house forever; the son continues forever." John 8:31-32, 34-35

The choice is to know the truth and be free, or to sin and be a slave. It may seem obvious, but what is so good about truth and freedom, and why do we seek it, and what is so bad about sinning and slavery, and why should we avoid it? 

What is the good feels good, right, perhaps soothing? What is bad feels bad, uncomfortable, and/or perhaps . . . prickly. . .

  'Devil's Tongue', Prickly Pear(Opuntia humifusa)

Soothe is from Old English soðian (sothian)"show to be true", from, soð (soth) "true, genuine, real; just, righteous". In this respect, hearing the truth should be comforting, and hearing lies should sting. However, sometimes hearing the truth feels bad in the moment, and hearing lies can feel good as well, but lies are cold comfort, and change (from a state of imperfection to perfection) is what brings about true peace.    

Prickle is from Old English pricel "thing to prick with, goad, point". When things are prickly we tend to stay away from them. But we have to recognize them as being prickly fist. This probably only happens after some experience with being hurt or made to be uncomfortable by something prickly. I like to say that word, "prickly", its fun. Getting a hand full of cactus spines. . . not fun.

  The Torment of St. Anthony, Michaeangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni,c. 1487-1564

Stimulation (n.) is the "act of pricking or stirring to action", from Latin stimulationum (nominative stimulate) "an incitement". When we feel the sting of sin we are stimulated to avoid that sin. But sometimes its hard to stay away from sin, even so, and we pay over and over, choosing momentary pleasure and instant gratification, and we pay the price later. Perhaps we even fool ourselves saying things to ourselves like, "I won't get so stuffed that I feel sick and disgusted with myself after (insert holiday) dinner (or otherwise), or I'm not going to get so drunk that I feel deathly ill and have a massive hangover after my good friend's (or not so good friend's) wedding. . . this time. In any case, we may want to avoid the discomfort caused by the excess, but then cross the line accidentally. Nevertheless, can't this, then, cause one to try to do better the next time and to grow in maturity? 

And what is sin? Is it a particular act, or only an act which causes regret or suffering?

One word for sin in Hebrew is chataah "sin, sin offering".

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin (chataah) is covered. . . When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Psalm 32:1, 3

Another word for sin is shagag " to go astray, commit sin or error". So to sin in this sense is to err.

Before I was afflicted I went astray (shagag, "I sinned"), but now I obey your word. Psalm 119:67

Sin is the cause of discomfort. When actions do not cause discomfort, are they, then, sin? It seems that it is the consequence of the sin itself that produces discomfort. However, discomfort isn't always a bad thing if it stimulates one toward the good and truth. So how should we view sin? Should we be so ashamed of having sinned that we do not act because we fear sinning and, thus, we fail to learn and truly become free from sin? In the story of the prodigal son, the prodigal son goes astray and his discomfort causes him to return to his father. 

How many of my fathers hired servants have enough bread and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! Luke 15:17

In addition, ones discomfort is not always a sign of his or her own sin, for we say that Jesus was without sin, yet he suffered greatly. So it is possible to suffer the sin of the world, rather than ones own personal sin. But then, how does a person know if their discomfort is caused by their own sin? And, furthermore, can we judge another in this respect? No. It seems to come down to personal conscience. 

For when the Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law are a law unto themselves. In that they show the work of the Law is written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. Romans 2:14-16

    Jesus Cleansing the Leper - Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864

And not everyone seems to learn from his or her own sin. They may feel bad, i.e., the consequence, but also feel helpless to change. They simply cannot ever seem to win a victory over their unhealthy desires which rule their lives. In this case, they are slaves to sin. Some blame the Devil. The Devil made them do it, or perhaps Satan. . . Could it be?

Satan is from Hebew satan "adversary, one who plots against another".
If only there was a way to free oneself from the clutch of this adversary; this supernatural plotter of evil and ruin.

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing Romans. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with we. Romans 7:18-21

    Satan- The Adversary

But it is the truth that makes us free from sin. So, the truth is a cure for sin. If one has the truth he or she is not a slave to sin. Wouldn't it follow that if you are or identify as a sinner, then, you do not have the whole truth? Or, at least, you have not really heard it to the point of intimate understanding. 

In them is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. Mt. 13:14

Maat was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth. She set order out of chaos at the moment of creation. And at death the heart of the deceased was weighed against the lightness of the feather of Maat. Those whose hearts were found to be heavier than the feather of Maat were devoured by the waiting lion / hippopotamus / crocodile demon, Ammit, meaning "devourer", "soul eater"; the "Devourer of the Dead", and "Eater of Hearts", and had to remain in the underworld apart from paradise, the Aaru, i.e., "reed" fields.

[and isn't it interesting that emet, which sounds like Ammit, means "truth" in Hebrew? So is it the truth with is ultimately the devourer of the heart?]

    Maat Wearing Feather of Truth

It would seem that living in the truth should create a certain lightness of being. True is ultimately said to be from root *deru- / *drew- "be firm, solid, steadfast", like a tree. Tree is from PIE root *drew-o-, from deru- "oak". Feathers are not strong and trees are not light. How, then, is the truth solid yet light?

Jesus was no Goliath, some argue that he was, in fact, small in stature, however, Jesus claimed to be THE truth (John 14:6). God often works in this way; showing that his chosen, whom are the greatest, appear to be the least, or the most humble.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his hight, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

So, the strength of the heart is not necessarily shown through outward appearance, or the flesh, not unlike the feather of Maat. The strength of truth has to do with the durability of the heart. The heart of truth is light in weight, but strong, and, maybe, also it is light, as in bright, like the light of dawn. Truth is light like the birds which fly high in the heavens with their lightness (feathers), but the truth is also very strong, like the strength of the strongest tree, in spirit; durable (deru-ble), as the mighty oak. 

And feeling discomfort is not necessarily a sign of weakness, the people of the highest purity are going to be the ones who are most sensitive to discomfort of sin. They are more finely tuned and honed into the vibration of the truth.

    The Princess and The Pea, by Chetkova

Therefore, shouldn't we, who have the truth, take confidence in the truth, having lightness of heart, and let our light shine out of the darkness like we know what we're doing, and know who we are? Own it! Show the strength of your truth, or you prove you are nothing more than a slave and the truth is not in you. . . you are still a slave. . . though Christ has already ransomed you.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  Romans 6:6

Maybe you'll look a little awkward at times until you get really good at it. That's OK.

I don't mind if you don't mind, 'cuz I don't shine if you don't shine.