[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

Oh! Thank you littlemanpoet, Belin's insight went right past me in the first reading.

Yes, Belin! Very true. And one of the facts that writers point to as unusual about the LotR is that it continues beyond the climax and subsequent, hmm, for lack of a word I'll use a music term 'tonic note', or.. oh, here we go.. resolution. This is also one of the main aspects which identifies the LotR as a classic 'milieu'-type story where the world or milieu dominates. It's an excellent demonstration of Tolkien's theory that fairy stories never end, and may be why addicts such as ourselves can't just read it once and put it a shelf "Ah, that was a good book" and be done with it! Too much continues off the page and into the margins.

Helen/Mark12_30, my threshold for polite spiritual discussion is actually quite high, though in the past I've been very sensitive to appropriation of the LotR to the detriment of other perspectives, which you are not doing here. Using the LotR (or anything) as a diving board for ones personal spiritual path is excellent, and I applaud.

My knowledge of Christian spiritual practice is both limited and superficial I'm afraid. But starting with the theory that spirituality of all types have in their ethics and ultimate basis a commonality, while in philosophy differ, I'd like to point out the validity of starting with purgation or confession. I think that in those cases where the revelation comes first, they have already had some form of preceding purgation that has brought them to that place where they are open to the revelation. Even if it was not intentional (or perhaps especially if it was not intentional), for example, Sam's back-breaking service to Frodo across Ephel Duath was not for the sake of some spiritual gain, and he had reached of point of understanding that... he just couldn't do it. He had also become aware that Frodo, whose resilience and will he'd relied upon, couldn't either. They had neither the strength nor the will nor the courage to complete their task.

I argue that this humbled mindset was the basis from which Sam rose above it all. Else in the parting of the clouds of Ephel Duath, he would have only seen a star.