What do you think Parabola means?

Tool: Parabola Meaning

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Album cover for Parabola album cover

Song Released: 2002


Parabola Lyrics

We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment,
We are Choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside...
This holy reality, this holy experience. Choosing to be here in...

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder...

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  1. bestbandever
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     Jan 16th 2010 !⃝

    I think that this song and several others on lateralus was inspired a lot by Eckhart Tolles power of now..I guarantee Maynard read this book between eanama and Lateralus.. reflections as well. Parabolic is a synoym for parallel.The song is about him discovering his other self his true essence not the form he holds now.. His true spirit and his self are one. They run together in a straight line..In the beginning of the power of nw Tolle explains how he was suicidal and he kept telling himself that "I cannot live my self and it was then that he relized that there was obviously two of him and not one and I believe Maynard is talkin bout the same shit!!

  2. I.am.a.Tree
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     Dec 16th 2009 !⃝

    I think parabol/parabola is all about reaching a different state of mind, through as many others have listed here drugs (especially DMT or anesthetics(see the inside of the Aenima cd's artwork it talks about the anesthetic state of mind and trying to increase the percentage of our minds that we use)), meditation , mental journey's, or realization.

    I think this song is about searching how to find that state of mind of infinite possibilities. I support this because a parabola looks like this |( (except the brackets center is touching the line) the touching of the center represents our grounded-ness on earth (parabol) while parabola ( the exciting feeling of new surroundings(in the music)) is the infinite possibilities of that bracket (mathematically it extends for ever).

    I think they are saying that we are supposed to be searching for this different deeper state of mind, and our body is our tool in trying to find this connection to the worlds singular conscious (see the bill hicks expert from third eye on aenima I think these songs are very related) also when the man in the end of the parabola music video sees the energy in the vessel of the leaf he and it join then join a large inter network of energy. I think our third is to see this other state of mind and to look at things from a singular consciousness perspective/ network of all energy being connected, or simply alternatives to what we see with our two worldly eyes.

    Now the body of the lyrics, I think that when he's talking about were choosing to be here in this body is that any point we could kill ourselves and that life is choice and when he says , "hold on,stay inside" he is telling us to choose life, and though most are choosing to be in their bodies that we should use it as a "holy gift" to try and find our third eye or our connection to everything and that once we find that or on our way to finding that all the pain really becomes nothing but an an illusion in the big picture/ in our connection to everything.

    When he says the first line "We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment" I think he is saying we truly have no idea how our energy and our mind formed into what we are and why we are formed here. Then when he is saying we are eternal I think he means our energy our spirituality will always be alive as it flows through different forms and realities. Again though our "bodies" two eyes we can only "see [our] own mortality" and our third eye is to see beyond. finally when he says "This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in" I think he's saying that we all have the capabilities to see from a different perspective, and that we all feel pain like each other but we can again all look out this pain through a different perspective (different eye).


    like Iran said about the music video about the dusted apple is our dusted beliefs (religion, attitudes, close minded-ness ), and when the man takes the knife from the tool box and cuts it open to show a fresh inside, he is saying that we have tools to cut through our shrouding beliefs to experience the real core of everything, and when the men throw up the disgusting black stuff I think that symbolizes ridding them self from all those gross beliefs(religion, attitudes, close minded-ness)then you can finally make the transitions between parabol and parabola this world, to the infinite possibilities of other realities(note: this is at the exact same time the transition in the video happens).

    Then when the man(in the video) examines the tree I think he is examining nature which the I think the divine/complex tree is a symbol for(again examining nature examining its infinite possibilities of desgin through his third eye).. Then when the kid like thing walks by it looks as though he doesn't really get it. Then I think when the man puts his head into the glass cube thing as sees his mind , then all the black ball comes out (which I personally think represents his problems,but the fact that they are in his mind also represents that they can all be controlled and are therefore an illusion). Then the problems multiple and kill the kid like thing, which I think represents the mans old self ,unknowing and I think the kid like characteristics represents before he has matured to think past the pain and that problems his old problems pain can kill his old self. Then the man screaming at it probably shows his hate to towards the problems, and when he cuts open his former self he can finally see (with a heightened state of mind) his old self from the inside out what he really used to be.At the same time I think this shows he's left his bodily vessel (all the guts and tissues). From this point on the problem ball leaves him (connection?).

    Overall this song is about achieving your third eye through your journey in your mortal body ( through drugs,realization, mental journeys, meditation...) to really see alternative to the greater scheme of things and the connection of all our energies and to forgot our pain in comparison to that vast infinity. The Parabola is the core of this song (why it was named)and is about leaving the earthed two eye world (the connection of the bracket to the ( |( ) plane line) to the infinite possibilities (the bracket)of alternatives and our spirituality's eternalness to flow through these possibilities.

    Note: When I really started listening to this song I really got a feeling of a struggle and anger, and I think that represents the struggle of finding our third eye and how to see past this monotonous world and all the shit (the pain) in the way of that. Again overall about going through this to leave the earths to the alternatives of reality.

    Note:When I first watched the music video I was so high I freaked out and dropped my friends b and threw up from the smell/ greening out.

  3. anonymous
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     Jul 25th 2009 !⃝

    Uh just because Maynard is anti drug doesnt mean the rest of the band is.... what about Alex Grey art??? Do u know who he is and how he has done many drugs to aid in meditation. And i dont think Maynard is anti drug anyways why would Maynard of all people be brain washed by the 12 step program into believing about god... we all know tool is anti brainwashing religion that is always the theme.... think for yourself.... question authority.... so nice try.... but its massively false!

  4. anonymous
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     Apr 29th 2009 !⃝

    I would like to add something to the interpretation of Parabola being about chemicals in the pineal gland; the pineal gland was once called the "third eye" by the greeks who thought it was the soul gland. At the end of the video a third eye is opened. P.S. The guy talking about aliens is hillarious, I hope he really doesnt think that.

  5. Iran
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     Mar 26th 2009 !⃝

    I wanna interpret the music video. To me it's about beauty of being alive & rebirth. It's about being a new U. At the beginning of the video there are 3 guys. One of em opens a toolbox & takes out a knife which is the symbol of our tools for this change. Then he cuts a dusted apple. Yup, a dusted apple which is the symbol of our dusted attitudes, religion & stuff like that. The fresh inside is the symbol of capability for this change. There's also a geometrical shape in the apple which you can also see in another scene where some hands get each other to help for this metamorphosis. After that the guys levitate horizontally & throw up black stuff (which is the symbol of dusted attitudes, religion & …) and this is a sign of discarding them. Right after that U can see another guy & a kind of kid-like creature, which is the symbol of possessions & is killed by a mass of atoms which are multiplied as the video goes on. The atoms are the symbol of our problems which can multiply as we grow. The problems can cause lots of problems for us. They even can get our beloved parents, kids, wife, friends & … from us. All we need to do is change the way we look at everything. If your doctor told you that you are only alive for one month, then you would notice a lot of things you had never noticed already. U even notice the beauty of a very simple leaf let alone the breaths you catch. In the video U can see when that creature is killed, the man sadly screams, but he doesn't pine away & does the thing I mentioned. Every thing you do & achieve in this world, you know, depends on the way you see the things. Whether positively or negatively. If you do the same thing the man does, you can have more than two eyes. Eyes in the video are the symbol of divinity & keys which you can remove the obstacles with. Otherwise … Thx for reading it all! It's my point of view & I don't wanna impose it on U. Wish all of U the best.

  6. anonymous
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     Mar 4th 2009 !⃝

    This is just my point of view and what I hear in the song however...
    I believe that both parabol and parabola are about childbirth.

    I have two ways of interpreting this:

    1 is that it is from a fathers then a mothers then the childs point of view,

    I think that parabol in a strange way is the after affects of what you will read of the mother and childs part, but it is their reminder of why they are there.

    the calmness of parbol symbolizing the fathers amazement at the reality of life hitting him, holding this form in his hands that reminds him that he is not alone now in his reality and he has to make room for this other part of him, wide eyed and hopeful, the child of course! so many prospects. His pain, seeing the mother in agony, and the child being the reminder that it is for a reason. I believe his part finishes at the end of parabol.

    The mothers part in parabola the music is faster and loses the clarity of parabol but also has a numb quality - pain killers, as we all know when in extreme pain reality blurrs and becomes fast pasted and confusing, I believe the music symbolizes this. This body holding her, the father reminding her there is a reason, the family that will be, child birth is a holy experience, and of course they all chose to be there.

    then alive! being when the child is born from his "view" life is a shock its cold and painful, his mother or fathers arms remind him he is not alone. and you can work out all the each new experience.

    I think that one is a little confused though.

    number two is similar but just the mother and child's view parabol is still what she is hoping for parabola is in the begging labour and alive signals the child birth, and then the childs point of "view", that or the mothers hopes for the child.

    either way it is a truly great song and its wonderful that so many people speculate its meaning.

  7. anonymous
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     Nov 13th 2008 !⃝

    My interpretation is similar to those above but I believe a bit different. I will start with the title...a parabola, in mathematical terms, is a giant, infinite, U-shaped line. It begins and ends with infinity, which I think is pivotal to the meaning of the song. First, we are all lucky to be here on earth, it was a one in a billion chance that we were born. We, in a way, descended from heaven (Btw I do believe in heaven and God, just not religion). Our time on earth is represented by the zero value of a parabola, the very very short period of time in which we are actually on earth. We must cherish this incredibly short time here and let go of our anger and pain, remembering it is all an illusion. There is an infinite afterlife awaiting us, forming the other side of the parabola. There is no need to be caught up in the pain and anger of life but instead we just need to remember life is so fast it can, at times, seem like an illusion, and we need to cherish our chance to be alive and breathing. Our lives are like a parable, in which we are constantly experiencing new things and we must keep spinning in and out of these experiences recognizing the holy gift of life rather than wasting our time being angry. Personally, this is my favorite Tool song and every time I listen to it I feel a sense of belonging on this earth and, if I am angry, I instantly become much more chill and happy.

  8. anonymous
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     Oct 21st 2008 !⃝

    I'd laugh my ass off if all the "spirit addicts" found out that nothing happens when we die. What a big kick in the package that'd be. I mean fuck, who wants to live eternally anyway? Most of us fuckers are too lazy to live life as it is. Why the hell would anyone want to start over again. Eternal life seems like more of a pain in the ass than anything else. At least if I'm right there is an end. I like to see it as people are sentient bags of meat with eyes. Nothing magical, divine, or holy about it... So all you religious or spiritual asshats can lick my balls.

  9. ALLKOWINGEYESOFMINE
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     Sep 4th 2008 !⃝

    I would like to mention that at the end of parabola Adam plays a guitar outro, and coincidentally that outro is the intro of "roundabout" by Yes
    that might say something...
    kinda cool

  10. 3rdeye
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     Aug 18th 2008 !⃝

    Well anonymous your right about mr 666 some what but I think you just have a problem with the fact he is looking at the music through drugs and not appreciating for what it is without but your both right in some kind of sense. but you can in fact listen to both these songs without each other for parabol is the same lyrics as parabola but in fact the music for parabol leads up to parabola. The meaning is open for interpretation and there is no definite meaning in our minds for we do not know for a 100 percent so anonomous you are a disrespect for a listener of tool for this is for open-minded people in which case you can never surf all of the possible meanings of tool songs and never understand them fully because we are all right. we use this music as a tool, of idolizing the band or making it through the day or tripping us out on drugs because its so good in so many ways that it in fact does it all and that is what makes them a great band is there music inclination and there understanding of the world and the people in it, this song is defiantly spiritual and it doesn't need an explanation just listen to it with your mind and body and you will know what is intended.

  11. anonymous
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     Aug 6th 2008 !⃝

    I don't know what idiot posted the Interpretation with Dr. Strassman's book as an example but he needs to get his facts right

    Anyway
    This song is not just about a DMT trip
    if it is about a DMT trip at all
    It is about LIVING

    Basically it talks about how although we are eternal we have put our souls in whatever particular shell we are residing in at this moment. The body we are in and the life that we live is temporary. All the pain and suffering we find ourselves put through is merely an illusion created by our soul.

    But we must "embrace" the chance to have a body and live this life.

    Also I think the first line may reference reincarnation but I'm not going to step on any toes with going on about that one

    Enjoy your chance to be alive and breathing

  12. anonymous
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     Jul 1st 2008 !⃝

    I love seeing some of these comments. This song reminds me so much of what Bill Hicks said in one of his acts "Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves." The animation at the end of the video clearly shows the man opening his third eye and realizing his spiritual connection to nature as a whole (word it however you want you know what I mean), the rest is vague enough for interpretation...

    Basically I think this song is about humanity on an individual level quarreling and stressing about trivial shit, and then enters the man in the video observing the energy in the leaf (symbolizing nature?) which then travels through his body and becomes his third eye, which speaks for itself.

  13. anonymous
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     Jun 5th 2008 !⃝

    This song is about childbirth.

    "Recognize this as a holy gift"
    viewed through the eyes of the mother.

    "This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality"
    reaction upon seeing the newborn

    "twirling round with this familiar parable"
    the social teaching of motherhood to women

    "stay inside"
    reaction to the contractions as the pain increases

    "all this pain is an illusion"
    rationalizing the pain

    these are just the lines I chose to elaborate on there is more however. Like "Be my reminder here that I am not alone in this body."

  14. anonymous
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     May 1st 2008 !⃝

    DMT?

  15. anonymous
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     Apr 27th 2008 !⃝

    This song is clearly about sex.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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