{"product_id":"the-mask-is-the-world-stories-of-cultural-symbols","title":"The Mask is the World: Stories of Cultural Symbols","description":"Where is meaning born?\nWhere do creators bring beauty from?\n\nThe 33 stories in this book travel the world to imaginatively reflect on art, beauty, work, culture, creativity, and the group... among other things. Each story is a reflection on one - or more - cultural symbols and the deeper meanings embedded in them.\n\nCulture is the mind of the group, it carries history, and the accumulation of creative work throughout many ages. Culture’s symbols carry what some researchers call “excess meaning”, which doesn’t show clearly, yet we carry it and mold it into many thoughts… We fashion it into identities that might become us without us feeling.\n\nCulture always runs, like passing clouds that carry many possibilities… like golden braids that permeate the fabric of the world.It is constantly being created and re-imagined by people, and what spreads survives.\n\nDid you think that the tree was – only – a tree? That the bridge was a bridge, and that the fish, the map, the pomegranate, and the shell, were mere things?\nDid you think music was beautiful because it flowed between air and our feelings?\n\nSymbols intersect and their dance creates new symbols with every thoughtful gaze.\n\nThe stories of this book are an exploration of culture, of the world’s symbols, of the meanings that make the personalities of its different peoples, and of their adventures enriched by people’s souls and contemplation.\n\nFrom east Asia to the great plains of America, from Europe and its great intellectual movements to the near-east with its heritage stretching through antiquity, to the hills of Eurasia and its steppes, to the mysteries of India and Africa, I’ve collected (unmethodically) symbols that shaped the memories of nations, their ideas, and their perception of beauty, and I’ve reinterpreted them in search of a look at what’s beyond…\n\nThe 33 Stories in this collection: The Mask-maker (no particular region) Wabi-Sabi \u0026amp; Mono No Aware (Japan) Salvation (On priesthood, religion, and Spirituality. No particular region) Processions of grief (Near East) Khamsa \u0026amp; the Evil Eye (Near East) The Mask of the Shaman (Africa) Stickers (Europe) Making Maps (no particular region) The Face in the Mirror (Middle East \u0026amp; Central Asia) Ashes to Ashes (India) Us (Europe) The Master \u0026amp; The Wooden Screen (China) Judgement Day (Egypt) Guns and Swords (Japan \u0026amp; The Middle East) Escaping Prison (Arabia) The Blues! (Africa \u0026amp; America) The Web of Earth \u0026amp; Heaven (Mediterranean) Superstition \u0026amp; Great Movements (Middle East, South-east Asia, Japan) El Camino de Santiago (Europe) Totem Poles (America) Matriarchy \/ Patriarchy (Mythology \/ General) The Symphony \u0026amp; The Church (Germany) The Bridge (Turkey) Fractions (Tibet \u0026amp; Byzantium) The Witch \u0026amp; The Maze (Europe) Chains of People \u0026amp; Gods (Africa) The Enchantress (Greece, Persia, and the Middle East) The Buffalo and The Sacred (America \u0026amp; Europe) The Melting Pot (America) Flowing Glory (Belgium) The Opera and Love (Italy \u0026amp; Greece) My Last Sculpture (Sculpture \/ Global Symbols) Graffiti Box (Global Symbols)\nThe stories are short (a few pages each) reflections... Give them time.\nIf you have enough time (and resolve) read the stories first, then read the 'Guide and Directions' section and do some research, then re-read the group as it gains new meanings that result from the revealed interconnections and the changes in your perspective.\n\nThe book has 33 highly symbolic images (one per story) which reflect (some of) the essence of the stories.The printed versions of the book have them in full color... and they are beautiful to look at and contemplate. They are all AI-generated.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: B0DH7VXYR8\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.B0DH7VXYR8.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Hijazi, Ahmad\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43338384048189,"sku":"BVV.B0DH7VXYR8.G","price":16.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/the-mask-is-the-world-stories-of-cultural-symbols","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}