The Matrix movies are great explanations of our situation. If this video sparks interest, search google videos for "Return to the Source Matrix." It has 6 parts to it and is worth checking out.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Pop Rox Experience Vs Truly Understanding Oneself
(NOTE: This is a rough draft of something I wrote recently. I'm dealing with a few friends who are choosing the Pop Rox experience over understanding themselves/things in their life. They seem to possibly be inclined to abandoning friends, loved ones for the sake of emotionalism in their cultish church. I understand that some go through phases, & some might come out of it once the interest runs its course. Sometimes the pains/sufferings come back and they realize they need to LOOK INSIDE THEMSELVES FOR CERTAIN ANSWERS. Remind me of this when you see me down!!)
Pop Rox Experience vs. Truly Understanding Oneself
A man gets depressed about life. He walks the streets and runs into someone preaching this, "..understand yourself and be liberated." The man says to himself, "that's not the idea I had of how to become liberated from my suffering." So, he walks and walks, until he finds someone else selling Pop Rocks. The man puts the Pop Rocks in his mouth and has the experience, and is satisfied with not understanding himself. So every week, every moment the man feels weak, or depressed, he finds the guy selling Pop Rocks for comfort & pleasure, instead of understanding why & how his life came to be this way.
If we go to church merely for comfort, and not to understand ourselves, we're doing the same thing this man is doing. We are buying into the idea that the only thing we are supposed to do in this life is sign some agreement with the church to "vouch for us in heaven" while we continue to seek comfort from them when we are down.
I don't go to church anymore. Haven't for years, but if I were to go back, it would be for practical everyday encouragement of fellowshipping with other human beings who are just trying to find some kind of peace of mind/happiness in this life. If I had to pick a religion, I would consider myself a Taoist or Zen Humanist. I know I'm not perfect by any social/cultural standard, but I also know that no one else knows much more if anything more than I do about what this existence is, where it came from, how it came to be,etc. I wouldn't expect anyone to try to understand themselves like I'm trying to do, however I would figure out a way to bring this to light to the preacher so he or she could help some in the church to understand themselves better. Some folks don't look for ways to find happiness in this life, they instead, look to the supposed "next life" while abandoning their friends, loved ones who don't go to their church. They have the idea that all they have to do is pledge their loyalty to a certain church, certain preacher, and not be afraid to say Jesus every other word...and somehow that recipe fixes their life. Now, they might find support from their church, which in their minds, in a round about way, proves their "way" is the path of Truth because their life circumstances got better.
If I lived in Iran, and was not a Muslim(and I'm not), the people would treat me differently. I would be lonely, lonely, lonely. Once I converted to their religion, they would embrace me with love and claim my fortune was because I converted to their "right" religion. The same thing happens here in the hills of WV, only its different factions of Christianity run by emotionalists who are selling "Pop Rocks religion." These are geared to tap into your emotional experience and somehow validate their ideas. Pick-up artists use this method to get women. They have women think of something that made them happiest, and somehow connect that moment to them. It's a con, and its disingenuous. We should encourage people to understand WHY they seek experiences like these, instead of selling them something they don't understand while not helping them to understand themselves better. Church should be about helping you understand yourself, so that you aren't bound by your demons if something should happen to the church. If the church doesn't help with this, then they are hiding Truth in order to keep people scared/startled enough to keep coming back. This isn't freedom, nor can it be of a Truth.
We live in a hectic society. We want everything now. If we can't understand something, we substitute that hole with finding comfort or ignoring it altogether. We then seek "comfort" in place of understanding ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes we seek experiences that we think will validate what we find. Even in the Eastern Philosophies, people sometimes have an idea of what "enlightenment" is and carry that image around with them, before they have some kind of experience. They don't know what it is, but already, they have an image of it in their minds. The same goes with Westernized religions. We get ideas of what "finding god" is....and because of our personal sincerity and circumstances, we feel deeply that the religion that fell onto our lap is the "right" one. Many people feel this. If all the people of all the world...of all religions feel this way? How can anyone be "right" as they all put it??
I could be an alcoholic and decide one day to quit drinking, finding support from my family to do this. My life would be better because of this. There could also be a man who's an alcoholic, quits drinking, starts going to church, finds support from family and friends from church. His life will get better too. The only difference is, I wouldn't be trying to convert you with my claim that my church had something to do with my life getting better.
When we seek to understand ourselves, in place of just settling for Pop Rocks, we do ourselves a favor, but also the people around us benefit.
Choose to understand and don't put too much importance on the flashy cultural "Pop Rox" that somehow sell a certain brand of religion or philosophy. If you can use it in everyday life and it helps you understand yourself, then keep it. If not, its just flair......its just Pop Rox(pleasure, escape, or comfort).
Whatever your beliefs, keep them, share them, just as long as you don't overly substitute understanding with fear, pleasure, comfort. Keep in mind, if your religion is exclusive, and tries to convert everyone else the majority of the time......its a religion of conversion, NOT understanding of the human condition, NOT compassion, NOT about taking responsibility for one's own actions. It's about fear........and fear becomes your number one motivating factor. If there's that much fear, there can be NO love.
I think that I should try to understand myself, understand what I am before I assert to convert those around me to the idea that Pop Rox are the answer to everyone else's problems and salvation.
Self-understanding can be more of a salvation than simply being comforted by Pop Rox.
Sometimes things need to be said, so I say them here. I cannot always say them out loud in my own life, until I can articulate them in such a way that won't be abbrasive. So, again, that's why I write them out here first.....and organize my thoughts over time. Hopefully this post will bring to light something for someone somewhere. If not, that's all right.
Seek to understand. That is my argument. I'll do the same. Peace.
Pop Rox Experience vs. Truly Understanding Oneself
A man gets depressed about life. He walks the streets and runs into someone preaching this, "..understand yourself and be liberated." The man says to himself, "that's not the idea I had of how to become liberated from my suffering." So, he walks and walks, until he finds someone else selling Pop Rocks. The man puts the Pop Rocks in his mouth and has the experience, and is satisfied with not understanding himself. So every week, every moment the man feels weak, or depressed, he finds the guy selling Pop Rocks for comfort & pleasure, instead of understanding why & how his life came to be this way.
If we go to church merely for comfort, and not to understand ourselves, we're doing the same thing this man is doing. We are buying into the idea that the only thing we are supposed to do in this life is sign some agreement with the church to "vouch for us in heaven" while we continue to seek comfort from them when we are down.
I don't go to church anymore. Haven't for years, but if I were to go back, it would be for practical everyday encouragement of fellowshipping with other human beings who are just trying to find some kind of peace of mind/happiness in this life. If I had to pick a religion, I would consider myself a Taoist or Zen Humanist. I know I'm not perfect by any social/cultural standard, but I also know that no one else knows much more if anything more than I do about what this existence is, where it came from, how it came to be,etc. I wouldn't expect anyone to try to understand themselves like I'm trying to do, however I would figure out a way to bring this to light to the preacher so he or she could help some in the church to understand themselves better. Some folks don't look for ways to find happiness in this life, they instead, look to the supposed "next life" while abandoning their friends, loved ones who don't go to their church. They have the idea that all they have to do is pledge their loyalty to a certain church, certain preacher, and not be afraid to say Jesus every other word...and somehow that recipe fixes their life. Now, they might find support from their church, which in their minds, in a round about way, proves their "way" is the path of Truth because their life circumstances got better.
If I lived in Iran, and was not a Muslim(and I'm not), the people would treat me differently. I would be lonely, lonely, lonely. Once I converted to their religion, they would embrace me with love and claim my fortune was because I converted to their "right" religion. The same thing happens here in the hills of WV, only its different factions of Christianity run by emotionalists who are selling "Pop Rocks religion." These are geared to tap into your emotional experience and somehow validate their ideas. Pick-up artists use this method to get women. They have women think of something that made them happiest, and somehow connect that moment to them. It's a con, and its disingenuous. We should encourage people to understand WHY they seek experiences like these, instead of selling them something they don't understand while not helping them to understand themselves better. Church should be about helping you understand yourself, so that you aren't bound by your demons if something should happen to the church. If the church doesn't help with this, then they are hiding Truth in order to keep people scared/startled enough to keep coming back. This isn't freedom, nor can it be of a Truth.
We live in a hectic society. We want everything now. If we can't understand something, we substitute that hole with finding comfort or ignoring it altogether. We then seek "comfort" in place of understanding ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes we seek experiences that we think will validate what we find. Even in the Eastern Philosophies, people sometimes have an idea of what "enlightenment" is and carry that image around with them, before they have some kind of experience. They don't know what it is, but already, they have an image of it in their minds. The same goes with Westernized religions. We get ideas of what "finding god" is....and because of our personal sincerity and circumstances, we feel deeply that the religion that fell onto our lap is the "right" one. Many people feel this. If all the people of all the world...of all religions feel this way? How can anyone be "right" as they all put it??
I could be an alcoholic and decide one day to quit drinking, finding support from my family to do this. My life would be better because of this. There could also be a man who's an alcoholic, quits drinking, starts going to church, finds support from family and friends from church. His life will get better too. The only difference is, I wouldn't be trying to convert you with my claim that my church had something to do with my life getting better.
When we seek to understand ourselves, in place of just settling for Pop Rocks, we do ourselves a favor, but also the people around us benefit.
Choose to understand and don't put too much importance on the flashy cultural "Pop Rox" that somehow sell a certain brand of religion or philosophy. If you can use it in everyday life and it helps you understand yourself, then keep it. If not, its just flair......its just Pop Rox(pleasure, escape, or comfort).
Whatever your beliefs, keep them, share them, just as long as you don't overly substitute understanding with fear, pleasure, comfort. Keep in mind, if your religion is exclusive, and tries to convert everyone else the majority of the time......its a religion of conversion, NOT understanding of the human condition, NOT compassion, NOT about taking responsibility for one's own actions. It's about fear........and fear becomes your number one motivating factor. If there's that much fear, there can be NO love.
I think that I should try to understand myself, understand what I am before I assert to convert those around me to the idea that Pop Rox are the answer to everyone else's problems and salvation.
Self-understanding can be more of a salvation than simply being comforted by Pop Rox.
Sometimes things need to be said, so I say them here. I cannot always say them out loud in my own life, until I can articulate them in such a way that won't be abbrasive. So, again, that's why I write them out here first.....and organize my thoughts over time. Hopefully this post will bring to light something for someone somewhere. If not, that's all right.
Seek to understand. That is my argument. I'll do the same. Peace.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
hey there
Hey there, I just edited my latest blog post here on Over in the shade. It wasn't finished but i didn't notice it until this morning. I meant to add commentary about the 2nd theory. It's at the bottom of the "two theories" post. I just wanted to fix it because it didn't make much sense. I was mainly trying to point at pop cultural influences on how we relate to each other here in the States & also to the world at large.
It's babble but it might spark awareness of some issues many of us or people around us seem to slip into at one point or another. Btw, I'm usually writing to myself as much as anyone reading.
It's babble but it might spark awareness of some issues many of us or people around us seem to slip into at one point or another. Btw, I'm usually writing to myself as much as anyone reading.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
two theories----Final Edit
Two theories i wondered about this morning-
1. I wonder how well we would do if less people took this life for granted and less people were anxious about their particular ideas of an afterlife. My theory is that if less people counted on(looked forward to) an afterlife, the more reverence they'd have for this life. They wouldn't take for granted that some force out there is going to take care of other people......they would step in and act!!! We would take care of each other. I know it would be bold to say that if we had no religion we'd take better care of each other, but that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if people could see themselves treating this life as "not important" because of their religious views/attitudes, then maybe more progress would take place. Our views now are that "everyone's on their own and should be self-reliant" and people who are aggressive enough to get ahead in life or are born fortunate are deserving of high quality of life. ..............and yet, we claim to be a moral country. It's ironic to hear many conservatives claim morality, but then to tell everyone who's not fortunate to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps and manifest fortune like they did. I thought christians would be more humanist. I think politicians prey on our moral, social, racial, economic, religious, and patriotic VANITY/pride. We claim morality, but have no room for helping others..........other than those who reinforce our beliefs in church or otherwise. We have no sense that some are born into unfortunate circumstance & never get out of it. We suck......because we'd rather believe that ANYTHING socialist is bad bad bad. Well, we've already got SOCIAL security, medicare, public schools, tax systems.......so you tell me who benefits by us allowing only those who have money to get health care. Other countries are ahead of us on this because we're a divided country........most of our politicians want us to worship our partisan ways so they can control us. Don't be among any party.
We don't want to debate this because we don't know enough to debate for most part as a country. So, instead....we learn a few phrases from our "party leaders" ---our "team" leaders who want us to be divided and then we go out and argue like we're AT A FOOTBALL GAME. As long as we're a blind follower of any party, we're going to be taken advantage of and controlled.
Go and RENT OR BUY THE MOVIE, "SICKO."
We've already got social programs. Social Security is one of many. If they want to get really technical we could say that taxes are socialist......but if we didn't pay them, we wouldn't have roads/highways to drive our cars on. Our tax system could be considered socialist. Public schools could be considered socialist. The Church collection plate could be considered socialist!!! So, don't let the scare tactics work!! They want us to be scared and divided so they can manipulate us and control us according to what they want. They also turn you against the very people who might actually do you some good.....which is really crappy. Health Care reform WON'T BE EASY......but people will have to come together and agree that our reasons for not allowing it in the past is because politicians were making money protecting the health insurance giants from competition.
Here's then President Nixon on tape talking about how he was for HMO's giving less care IN ORDER TO MAKE PROFIT!!!!(an excerpt from the movie, "Sicko"):
2. My other theory is that in the future, there will be less and less people getting married or staying married. EDIT: More and more folks are wanting open relationships or "no strings," because its easier on everyone. No, not everyone but a lot of people. Many people seem less interested in long term relationships where people "iron out" communication issues. It might be a phase or maybe just the people I've run into lately. The reasons i think this is that we can get social interaction through the internet or even cell phone texting. People text all the time, rather than talk on the phone or see each other in person. We've become a nation of "texters." Many are getting antisocial when it comes to actually being around real people and talking in person. We can curse people when texting, but if we're in person we have to learn about ourselves and our reactions, which is too much WORK for us. Our tolerance for surprises or any rough patches is low. We've given up on each other as a species or something. By doing so, we've created a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way. We create an atmosphere of "antisociality," where there is less and less proof for hope in humanity....because everyone gives up and those left with hope are soon to follow because of the desert. It seems many would rather be single(to avoid pain & BS), but have options for sex and even relationships(just in case).
We want it all, but none of it at the same time. We want all options, like how they have cheat codes for video games. We want to have all options, and not accept realities. We're trained to be this way, probably by popular culture.
We don't like other people who have different rhythms to them..or generally think differently than us.....we like predictable people who agree with us for most part. We like consistency. Most of us demand from others what we are not willing to give to others up front.
We haven't faced the fact that life isn't perfect and its never going to be.........even if it does, it won't freeze in perfection. "Perfection" meaning whatever we as individuals think of as "perfect"....so its subjective. It's relative. Our EXPECTATIONS are mostly unrealistic when it comes to what we tend to demand from others.
I don't think this is in stone, but our social structure and dynamics might change drastically.............and actually ALLOW us to be controlled by party leaders of any side.
If we remain divided, divided we fall. We have to challenge ourselves to BE THE CHANGE WE WANT IN THIS WORLD.
Of course, my theory could be missing something......like how maybe we'll learn something from being a nation of texters.........and in turn learn something from it.
1. I wonder how well we would do if less people took this life for granted and less people were anxious about their particular ideas of an afterlife. My theory is that if less people counted on(looked forward to) an afterlife, the more reverence they'd have for this life. They wouldn't take for granted that some force out there is going to take care of other people......they would step in and act!!! We would take care of each other. I know it would be bold to say that if we had no religion we'd take better care of each other, but that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if people could see themselves treating this life as "not important" because of their religious views/attitudes, then maybe more progress would take place. Our views now are that "everyone's on their own and should be self-reliant" and people who are aggressive enough to get ahead in life or are born fortunate are deserving of high quality of life. ..............and yet, we claim to be a moral country. It's ironic to hear many conservatives claim morality, but then to tell everyone who's not fortunate to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps and manifest fortune like they did. I thought christians would be more humanist. I think politicians prey on our moral, social, racial, economic, religious, and patriotic VANITY/pride. We claim morality, but have no room for helping others..........other than those who reinforce our beliefs in church or otherwise. We have no sense that some are born into unfortunate circumstance & never get out of it. We suck......because we'd rather believe that ANYTHING socialist is bad bad bad. Well, we've already got SOCIAL security, medicare, public schools, tax systems.......so you tell me who benefits by us allowing only those who have money to get health care. Other countries are ahead of us on this because we're a divided country........most of our politicians want us to worship our partisan ways so they can control us. Don't be among any party.
We don't want to debate this because we don't know enough to debate for most part as a country. So, instead....we learn a few phrases from our "party leaders" ---our "team" leaders who want us to be divided and then we go out and argue like we're AT A FOOTBALL GAME. As long as we're a blind follower of any party, we're going to be taken advantage of and controlled.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Go and RENT OR BUY THE MOVIE, "SICKO."
We've already got social programs. Social Security is one of many. If they want to get really technical we could say that taxes are socialist......but if we didn't pay them, we wouldn't have roads/highways to drive our cars on. Our tax system could be considered socialist. Public schools could be considered socialist. The Church collection plate could be considered socialist!!! So, don't let the scare tactics work!! They want us to be scared and divided so they can manipulate us and control us according to what they want. They also turn you against the very people who might actually do you some good.....which is really crappy. Health Care reform WON'T BE EASY......but people will have to come together and agree that our reasons for not allowing it in the past is because politicians were making money protecting the health insurance giants from competition.
Here's then President Nixon on tape talking about how he was for HMO's giving less care IN ORDER TO MAKE PROFIT!!!!(an excerpt from the movie, "Sicko"):
2. My other theory is that in the future, there will be less and less people getting married or staying married. EDIT: More and more folks are wanting open relationships or "no strings," because its easier on everyone. No, not everyone but a lot of people. Many people seem less interested in long term relationships where people "iron out" communication issues. It might be a phase or maybe just the people I've run into lately. The reasons i think this is that we can get social interaction through the internet or even cell phone texting. People text all the time, rather than talk on the phone or see each other in person. We've become a nation of "texters." Many are getting antisocial when it comes to actually being around real people and talking in person. We can curse people when texting, but if we're in person we have to learn about ourselves and our reactions, which is too much WORK for us. Our tolerance for surprises or any rough patches is low. We've given up on each other as a species or something. By doing so, we've created a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way. We create an atmosphere of "antisociality," where there is less and less proof for hope in humanity....because everyone gives up and those left with hope are soon to follow because of the desert. It seems many would rather be single(to avoid pain & BS), but have options for sex and even relationships(just in case).
We want it all, but none of it at the same time. We want all options, like how they have cheat codes for video games. We want to have all options, and not accept realities. We're trained to be this way, probably by popular culture.
We don't like other people who have different rhythms to them..or generally think differently than us.....we like predictable people who agree with us for most part. We like consistency. Most of us demand from others what we are not willing to give to others up front.
We haven't faced the fact that life isn't perfect and its never going to be.........even if it does, it won't freeze in perfection. "Perfection" meaning whatever we as individuals think of as "perfect"....so its subjective. It's relative. Our EXPECTATIONS are mostly unrealistic when it comes to what we tend to demand from others.
I don't think this is in stone, but our social structure and dynamics might change drastically.............and actually ALLOW us to be controlled by party leaders of any side.
If we remain divided, divided we fall. We have to challenge ourselves to BE THE CHANGE WE WANT IN THIS WORLD.
Of course, my theory could be missing something......like how maybe we'll learn something from being a nation of texters.........and in turn learn something from it.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
eastern thought for young atheists EDITED again
Here's a quote from the man given the title of "the buddha": "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."
Young Atheists, open your minds for this short time...Buddhism isn't what you think it is.
Atheism can become its own belief system. If some Atheists had their way, the action heroes writing books with their smiling pictures could possibly become legendary, just like heroes in other religions. We have great reverence for thinkers such as Sam Harris, and Dawkins(and others). It would only be a matter of time before we replaced beliefs we already have with reverence for these atheist heroes making them symbols to worship, right? I think South Park did a show on this idea. That's what we humans have been doing for ages and we will continue to do. We'd have to collectively jump to understanding the human condition better in order to avoid going back to sleep with our collective dreams.
There becomes a certainty of one's logic to where we back ourselves into a corner, believing in our "self" and logic. We then feel that the only thing that is real is our thoughts and images of ourselves and our logic/reasoning. The truth is, those thoughts and images are a part of what tradition programmed into you. We're left with the scraps from the "traditional kernel"(mind's software) of how to engage with and understand life. Tradition and culture hands down ways of thinking and ways of interacting with our environment(handling information). As Alan Watts would say, "the organism and environment are One." The scientists will agree.
The traditional kernel of our cultural software teaches us to "believe" we exist as a thinker apart from thought thinking about thought. I'm all for you being true to yourself and enjoying your life, I'm just sharing these ideas, so please be patient & gargle these things for a few. The self-image is like a mentally projected paper doll. Atheists argue against beliefs, but they should also add something to their individual toolbox, which is "self-inquiry." "who am i?" "Self-inquiry" has slight difference in meaning in different traditions. So, if you search, seek out a good source that doesn't hold up too many superstitions over going straight to the heart of it, like Zen. Alan Watts audio is all over the internet. This is a good site to start with: http://diydharma.org/audio/by/artist/alan_watts
So, I'm going to argue for Atheists to study Eastern Thought-- [Buddhism], Taoism, Advaita Vedanta, Yoga,etc.
A good friend reminded me that Buddhism, is Atheistic in that there are NO GODS, NO BELIEFS. Some argue that Buddhism is Agnostic, but in the eyes of Christians(and others), it would be Atheist because the core teachings/understandings of Buddhist thought, they smash beliefs to bits. Over the years different cultures have added a different meaning to "karma" and "reincarnation." So, we here in the West assume that because of these very supernatural sounding interpretations, and seeing certain cultures bow to statues out of reverence, that it has nothing to offer. I never knew what Buddhism or the others were about until I read into them.
We have sort of an inverse belief system, when we believe something has no use or credit because of rumor and mass cultural misinterpretation. That's why most people don't know what Buddhism is. If young Atheists hail scientific study as I hear, ...then they would recognize they don't know everything(never will) and should investigate facts without taking them personal so quickly. I understand that there are atheist movements devoted to debunking beliefs, and it is necessary to cause healthy doubt. What I'm trying to get at is each individual's path......your own unique path, should allow for inquiry into issues of questioning of one's "self." If atheists don't do this, they're just taking one extreme movement of self.....into another direction of atheism as a reactionary revolution defined and married to its opposite. Like if you hate one of your parents so much for how they treated you, then you live your whole life hating them, despising them or anyone that acts like them. Eventually, you might become JUST LIKE THEM, becoming what you most despise out of pure reaction to how you were treated by them. Defense can turn into offense....creating a link in the cycle of the same. That's why I argue that the discussion can be about something deeper. Hopefully people will pick up where I leave off, or expand or even come up with a way better/relevant discussion than mine.
The ideas from eastern thought give you tools for self-study and to understand the human condition better. For years I thought Buddhism was another "god" religion, but its not. It's scientific study of the self, of the human condition.
Recently I had tried to expose a young atheist to some of these ideas, but I went about it the wrong way. I went to her blog that was tearing up the mis-interpretation of karma. I let her know what karma really meant and that those words were basically interpreted wrong. The original meanings of "karma" and "rebirth" in Buddhism, have nothing to do with anything supernatural or anything to do with future or past lives. I won't go into the meanings here. The interpretations we know about them aren't relevant because they're cultural mis-interpretations.
A friend read my responses to her and he told me that he responded, but I have not been back to read her blog since he emailed me and mentioned she was being feisty with my last post. It's best to let time and life shape her path. If she's truly searching out something true, she'll eventually find Eastern thought OR she'll find the equivalent in her own insights of things. When I quit being a Christian 14-ish years ago, I had a deep anger and resentment for a long time. It was a gradual thing, I started by inventing my own liberal idea of a god for a while to give my life meaning but eventually life kicked my butt anyway. I figured no one knew anything about what this existence was, and so all religions/philosophies were BS and had nothing to offer. So, I basically shot myself in the foot and went into life using the software scraps that tradition gave me to define myself in relation to everything, for engaging with life, and developing my understanding of this existence. I "believed" in my self-image as tradition teaches us. In a way, I worshipped myself and my arguments against beliefs. My identity was based on those things. I took personally those issues just as many believers would take personally me tearing into their own religion.
I find that many Atheists are stuck & satisfied with being a mere reaction to Theism and perceived beliefs of any kind, except they leave the belief in "self-image/self." It's ok, whether we understand or lack understanding, its a part of nature. Everyone's path is different, and we're not all going to be on the same page at the same exact moment. I'm telling young atheists to not shoot themselves in the foot by blocking out ideas. Don't get me wrong, I play many roles to many people, and get lost in them just as much as anyone else at times. My argument here is that if we're serious, we'll not nit-pick at the surface interpretations of "Western interpretations" of Eastern ideas...like Hitchens picking apart the Dalai Lama, trying to discredit all schools of Buddhism. There are many traditions of Buddhist thought, but the core of Buddhism dissolves belief and hails "reason." So, I think many Atheists would find themselves at home with Buddhist thought.......and actually take their scientific inquiry they have been using with them.
The word, "Buddha" was used as a title. It actually means, "awakened one" within the context of having woke up from the dream of belief, of illusory continuity of self,....seeing reality as it is in each moment. Or something like that. I've read around, ignoring superstitious interpretations of karma/reincarnation in my studies and still found many tools and also validation of my own insights into the human condition. So, just because some cultures may still have small superstitions, it doesn't totally discredit their other insights into how the mind works in other areas of life. It means they missed a spot...but got the rest. I'd say we all have blind spots. I do.
I'd like to say this, take from Eastern thought like you would take from a salad bar, leave what doesn't agree with reason. That's what I've tried to do in my own path. There is a quote from 'the buddha' below, where he talks about belief and using reason.
Here are some quotes to help cause doubt in Atheists about their possible negative view of what Buddhism is, and if you have any quotes please share them:
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
-------Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)--also known to the world as "the Buddha"
A good friend sent me this one:
Buddhism is a religion come of age. Buddhism is the religion of a mature mind. Buddhism is not childish at all – and it doesn’t support any childish desires in you, it is merciless. Let me repeat it: there has never been a man more compassionate than Buddha but his religion is merciless. In fact, in that mercilessness he is showing his compassion. He will not allow you to cling to any lie. However consoling, a lie is a lie. And those who have given you the lie are not friends to you, they are enemies – because under the impact of the lie you will live a life full of lies. The truth has to be brought to you, howsoever hard, howsoever shattering, howsoever shocking. Even if you are annihilated by the impact of the truth it is good. -Osho
EditEDIT: The Einstein Quote might have been a rumor spread on the internet. However, there was a book by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, that is said to have his quote. So, if you wish, investigate it further. It's only fair to withdraw that quote until someone can prove Einstein said that. Thanks
-----------------------
Eventually maybe humanity will drop the "us and them" mindset and it will just be an "us" mindset.
Enjoy life......and be true to yourselves.
Young Atheists, open your minds for this short time...Buddhism isn't what you think it is.
Atheism can become its own belief system. If some Atheists had their way, the action heroes writing books with their smiling pictures could possibly become legendary, just like heroes in other religions. We have great reverence for thinkers such as Sam Harris, and Dawkins(and others). It would only be a matter of time before we replaced beliefs we already have with reverence for these atheist heroes making them symbols to worship, right? I think South Park did a show on this idea. That's what we humans have been doing for ages and we will continue to do. We'd have to collectively jump to understanding the human condition better in order to avoid going back to sleep with our collective dreams.
There becomes a certainty of one's logic to where we back ourselves into a corner, believing in our "self" and logic. We then feel that the only thing that is real is our thoughts and images of ourselves and our logic/reasoning. The truth is, those thoughts and images are a part of what tradition programmed into you. We're left with the scraps from the "traditional kernel"(mind's software) of how to engage with and understand life. Tradition and culture hands down ways of thinking and ways of interacting with our environment(handling information). As Alan Watts would say, "the organism and environment are One." The scientists will agree.
The traditional kernel of our cultural software teaches us to "believe" we exist as a thinker apart from thought thinking about thought. I'm all for you being true to yourself and enjoying your life, I'm just sharing these ideas, so please be patient & gargle these things for a few. The self-image is like a mentally projected paper doll. Atheists argue against beliefs, but they should also add something to their individual toolbox, which is "self-inquiry." "who am i?" "Self-inquiry" has slight difference in meaning in different traditions. So, if you search, seek out a good source that doesn't hold up too many superstitions over going straight to the heart of it, like Zen. Alan Watts audio is all over the internet. This is a good site to start with: http://diydharma.org/audio/by/artist/alan_watts
So, I'm going to argue for Atheists to study Eastern Thought-- [Buddhism], Taoism, Advaita Vedanta, Yoga,etc.
A good friend reminded me that Buddhism, is Atheistic in that there are NO GODS, NO BELIEFS. Some argue that Buddhism is Agnostic, but in the eyes of Christians(and others), it would be Atheist because the core teachings/understandings of Buddhist thought, they smash beliefs to bits. Over the years different cultures have added a different meaning to "karma" and "reincarnation." So, we here in the West assume that because of these very supernatural sounding interpretations, and seeing certain cultures bow to statues out of reverence, that it has nothing to offer. I never knew what Buddhism or the others were about until I read into them.
We have sort of an inverse belief system, when we believe something has no use or credit because of rumor and mass cultural misinterpretation. That's why most people don't know what Buddhism is. If young Atheists hail scientific study as I hear, ...then they would recognize they don't know everything(never will) and should investigate facts without taking them personal so quickly. I understand that there are atheist movements devoted to debunking beliefs, and it is necessary to cause healthy doubt. What I'm trying to get at is each individual's path......your own unique path, should allow for inquiry into issues of questioning of one's "self." If atheists don't do this, they're just taking one extreme movement of self.....into another direction of atheism as a reactionary revolution defined and married to its opposite. Like if you hate one of your parents so much for how they treated you, then you live your whole life hating them, despising them or anyone that acts like them. Eventually, you might become JUST LIKE THEM, becoming what you most despise out of pure reaction to how you were treated by them. Defense can turn into offense....creating a link in the cycle of the same. That's why I argue that the discussion can be about something deeper. Hopefully people will pick up where I leave off, or expand or even come up with a way better/relevant discussion than mine.
The ideas from eastern thought give you tools for self-study and to understand the human condition better. For years I thought Buddhism was another "god" religion, but its not. It's scientific study of the self, of the human condition.
Recently I had tried to expose a young atheist to some of these ideas, but I went about it the wrong way. I went to her blog that was tearing up the mis-interpretation of karma. I let her know what karma really meant and that those words were basically interpreted wrong. The original meanings of "karma" and "rebirth" in Buddhism, have nothing to do with anything supernatural or anything to do with future or past lives. I won't go into the meanings here. The interpretations we know about them aren't relevant because they're cultural mis-interpretations.
A friend read my responses to her and he told me that he responded, but I have not been back to read her blog since he emailed me and mentioned she was being feisty with my last post. It's best to let time and life shape her path. If she's truly searching out something true, she'll eventually find Eastern thought OR she'll find the equivalent in her own insights of things. When I quit being a Christian 14-ish years ago, I had a deep anger and resentment for a long time. It was a gradual thing, I started by inventing my own liberal idea of a god for a while to give my life meaning but eventually life kicked my butt anyway. I figured no one knew anything about what this existence was, and so all religions/philosophies were BS and had nothing to offer. So, I basically shot myself in the foot and went into life using the software scraps that tradition gave me to define myself in relation to everything, for engaging with life, and developing my understanding of this existence. I "believed" in my self-image as tradition teaches us. In a way, I worshipped myself and my arguments against beliefs. My identity was based on those things. I took personally those issues just as many believers would take personally me tearing into their own religion.
I find that many Atheists are stuck & satisfied with being a mere reaction to Theism and perceived beliefs of any kind, except they leave the belief in "self-image/self." It's ok, whether we understand or lack understanding, its a part of nature. Everyone's path is different, and we're not all going to be on the same page at the same exact moment. I'm telling young atheists to not shoot themselves in the foot by blocking out ideas. Don't get me wrong, I play many roles to many people, and get lost in them just as much as anyone else at times. My argument here is that if we're serious, we'll not nit-pick at the surface interpretations of "Western interpretations" of Eastern ideas...like Hitchens picking apart the Dalai Lama, trying to discredit all schools of Buddhism. There are many traditions of Buddhist thought, but the core of Buddhism dissolves belief and hails "reason." So, I think many Atheists would find themselves at home with Buddhist thought.......and actually take their scientific inquiry they have been using with them.
The word, "Buddha" was used as a title. It actually means, "awakened one" within the context of having woke up from the dream of belief, of illusory continuity of self,....seeing reality as it is in each moment. Or something like that. I've read around, ignoring superstitious interpretations of karma/reincarnation in my studies and still found many tools and also validation of my own insights into the human condition. So, just because some cultures may still have small superstitions, it doesn't totally discredit their other insights into how the mind works in other areas of life. It means they missed a spot...but got the rest. I'd say we all have blind spots. I do.
I'd like to say this, take from Eastern thought like you would take from a salad bar, leave what doesn't agree with reason. That's what I've tried to do in my own path. There is a quote from 'the buddha' below, where he talks about belief and using reason.
Here are some quotes to help cause doubt in Atheists about their possible negative view of what Buddhism is, and if you have any quotes please share them:
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
-------Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)--also known to the world as "the Buddha"
A good friend sent me this one:
Buddhism is a religion come of age. Buddhism is the religion of a mature mind. Buddhism is not childish at all – and it doesn’t support any childish desires in you, it is merciless. Let me repeat it: there has never been a man more compassionate than Buddha but his religion is merciless. In fact, in that mercilessness he is showing his compassion. He will not allow you to cling to any lie. However consoling, a lie is a lie. And those who have given you the lie are not friends to you, they are enemies – because under the impact of the lie you will live a life full of lies. The truth has to be brought to you, howsoever hard, howsoever shattering, howsoever shocking. Even if you are annihilated by the impact of the truth it is good. -Osho
EditEDIT: The Einstein Quote might have been a rumor spread on the internet. However, there was a book by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, that is said to have his quote. So, if you wish, investigate it further. It's only fair to withdraw that quote until someone can prove Einstein said that. Thanks
-----------------------
Eventually maybe humanity will drop the "us and them" mindset and it will just be an "us" mindset.
Enjoy life......and be true to yourselves.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
progress toward a humanist society & gay rights
The US was founded by Humanists, even though slavery was a part of it at first....there was room for society to progress to its full potential of accepting people, of becoming a Humanist country. Many would agree our country's principals are Humanist in nature. That we aspire to understand the human condition, and live in peace in harmony with each other....that's our collective aspiration. If we can get past these last few oppressive games in society, we can become more efficient and successful as a society. Mainly because we won't be voting people in office who favor oppression and lack intellect and rational judgement. We'll instead elect people based on their view of the BIG PICTURE. The only thing holding us back is fear......fear of admitting maybe we might be wrong, fear of admitting that we're clinging to old cultural beliefs that weren't based on facts, but instead were based on lack of understanding and fear. Fear, fear, fear.....knocked down peace, love, and understanding. So, i'm going to point out some things in my usual babble-fashion.
Earlier, I listened to a "Reverend" say he was happy that the gays cannot get married in CA. In my opinion, no matter what your view on this issue, EVENTUALLY....just like every major group in society, they will gain the rights they seek. All you do when you discriminate without good reason, you postpone the progress of society to become more efficient and successful as a whole. Anytime we single out a group to treat as a political soccerball wedge issue, we are holding back our progress. Look at the facts, there are gays/lesbians everywhere in every culture all over the world. There is always going to be a major population of gay folks in our society. You can't change that. Why make these folks feel "less than" or that they aren't worthy of the same rights everyone else is?? They're f-ing people too!! They're going to be gay or lesbian the whole time they exist.....so let them be happy. Eventually, in a generation or so, it will happen. All we do by holding people back is slow our progress and healing as a society. You are NOT on a mission from your idea of god, so don't go there. Jim Jones thought he was on a mission from his idea of god...nuff said. Leviticus said a lot of other strange things....that I'm sure you wouldn't want to take literally!!! I don't remember reading anything about the J-man, ever.......ever saying anything about the gay folks.
I'm going to call myself a buddhist just for the moment, because I agree with the core teachings of Buddhism as being facts that anyone could agree with if they actually looked at them from a good source. Buddists stand beside gays and lesbians for their right to marry. Buddhists are humanists. The United States essentially is a Humanist country. There are also Christians & folks of differing religions who stand beside the gays and lesbian folks. They are free thinkers, and humanists. That's the type of people that help start this country!!!!!!!!
Christians, as far as I can tell,[for most part] in our country are not "Christ-like." They judge, politicize their fears and get caught up in all kinds of exclusivity games claiming to have Truth without ever having to look into themselves, question themeselves or think about the big picture, all because of the loophole patch that says, their book put together by a political regime & passed down by the game of telephone is "infallible." Keep reading, I know there are humanist christians too. The religious right zealots also produce self-fulfilling prophecy. They are, at times, not humanists at all, & not seeking to understand the human condition according to facts. They don't care to "SEE" what the truth of the matter is according to science or fact, but instead settle for interpretations handed down over the ages, and changed according to the times and hands it falls into. Their resistance to actual Truth, is what's holding us back as a society.
There are also those Christian Fundamentalists who hold up signs saying, "god hates fags." If there are Christians who don't agree with that, they should break from the herd of nonhumanist folks, and speak up...and vote.
If they did seek to understand the human condition more, we'd all benefit. This goes for all religions who have major factions out there in our politics spreading fear, lack of objective rational understanding of humanity, and saying they're for "peace" yet oppress people based on their own superficial/shallow beliefs and interpretations of their particular book of worship.
You cannot say that I am judging or oppressing, when all I'm doing is making a statement of fact. People outside belief bubbles can see inside the belief bubble and develop understandings of things based on facts and better reasoning of things because they're not inclined to start with what they think the truth is, and make the evidence fit what they already think is the truth.
If "Johnny" steals a cookie from the cookie jar, and I point that out, I'm not judging him....I'm pointing it out so folks will know he's stealing cookies from the jar. It's to point out something that may help things in the long run. I dunno for sure tho. So, please don't tell me I'm shunning the shunners...or oppressing the oppressors. If I ask others to accept the gay folks as they are & live in harmony, that doesn't mean someone can turn around and ask me to accept the actions of anti-gay folks who protest against gay marriage(their effort to shut me up). You cannot turn my ideal around on me when it comes to this....because one ideal is standing up for the oppressed....for equal rights...for human rights....that ideal is not standing up for the oppressors.
The religious right and fearlovers have a long history of holding back progress and oppressing people in our country. I think there were laws against interracial marriage as late as the early 1970's. People used to argue that interracial marriage would destroy marriage!!! People are still getting married as far as I know. If they were serious about "protecting marriage" wouldn't they lobby for outlawing divorce??? Or start having fixed/arranged marriages??
To the Christians who actually are humanists, who step outside the usual interpretations, I sincerely tip my hat to you. Please speak up and rebel against the fearloving dramaticans who hold our society back from progressing to its full potential. Believers and non believers should be able to live side by side, without either side creating an exclusive club against the other........there should be enough self-understanding and understanding of the human condition to where we wouldn't allow ourselves to go astray. At least, that's the ideal.....but we know that people generally use their beliefs to "become" something amongst their tribe. The typical tribal mindset likes to create the "us and them".....which holds us back from just creating an "us" mindset.
Actually I'm sure that this applies to any country......not just the US. If people step outside the box, become free thinkers, and humanists then progress can happen.
Thanks for reading.
Earlier, I listened to a "Reverend" say he was happy that the gays cannot get married in CA. In my opinion, no matter what your view on this issue, EVENTUALLY....just like every major group in society, they will gain the rights they seek. All you do when you discriminate without good reason, you postpone the progress of society to become more efficient and successful as a whole. Anytime we single out a group to treat as a political soccerball wedge issue, we are holding back our progress. Look at the facts, there are gays/lesbians everywhere in every culture all over the world. There is always going to be a major population of gay folks in our society. You can't change that. Why make these folks feel "less than" or that they aren't worthy of the same rights everyone else is?? They're f-ing people too!! They're going to be gay or lesbian the whole time they exist.....so let them be happy. Eventually, in a generation or so, it will happen. All we do by holding people back is slow our progress and healing as a society. You are NOT on a mission from your idea of god, so don't go there. Jim Jones thought he was on a mission from his idea of god...nuff said. Leviticus said a lot of other strange things....that I'm sure you wouldn't want to take literally!!! I don't remember reading anything about the J-man, ever.......ever saying anything about the gay folks.
I'm going to call myself a buddhist just for the moment, because I agree with the core teachings of Buddhism as being facts that anyone could agree with if they actually looked at them from a good source. Buddists stand beside gays and lesbians for their right to marry. Buddhists are humanists. The United States essentially is a Humanist country. There are also Christians & folks of differing religions who stand beside the gays and lesbian folks. They are free thinkers, and humanists. That's the type of people that help start this country!!!!!!!!
Christians, as far as I can tell,[for most part] in our country are not "Christ-like." They judge, politicize their fears and get caught up in all kinds of exclusivity games claiming to have Truth without ever having to look into themselves, question themeselves or think about the big picture, all because of the loophole patch that says, their book put together by a political regime & passed down by the game of telephone is "infallible." Keep reading, I know there are humanist christians too. The religious right zealots also produce self-fulfilling prophecy. They are, at times, not humanists at all, & not seeking to understand the human condition according to facts. They don't care to "SEE" what the truth of the matter is according to science or fact, but instead settle for interpretations handed down over the ages, and changed according to the times and hands it falls into. Their resistance to actual Truth, is what's holding us back as a society.
There are also those Christian Fundamentalists who hold up signs saying, "god hates fags." If there are Christians who don't agree with that, they should break from the herd of nonhumanist folks, and speak up...and vote.
If they did seek to understand the human condition more, we'd all benefit. This goes for all religions who have major factions out there in our politics spreading fear, lack of objective rational understanding of humanity, and saying they're for "peace" yet oppress people based on their own superficial/shallow beliefs and interpretations of their particular book of worship.
You cannot say that I am judging or oppressing, when all I'm doing is making a statement of fact. People outside belief bubbles can see inside the belief bubble and develop understandings of things based on facts and better reasoning of things because they're not inclined to start with what they think the truth is, and make the evidence fit what they already think is the truth.
If "Johnny" steals a cookie from the cookie jar, and I point that out, I'm not judging him....I'm pointing it out so folks will know he's stealing cookies from the jar. It's to point out something that may help things in the long run. I dunno for sure tho. So, please don't tell me I'm shunning the shunners...or oppressing the oppressors. If I ask others to accept the gay folks as they are & live in harmony, that doesn't mean someone can turn around and ask me to accept the actions of anti-gay folks who protest against gay marriage(their effort to shut me up). You cannot turn my ideal around on me when it comes to this....because one ideal is standing up for the oppressed....for equal rights...for human rights....that ideal is not standing up for the oppressors.
The religious right and fearlovers have a long history of holding back progress and oppressing people in our country. I think there were laws against interracial marriage as late as the early 1970's. People used to argue that interracial marriage would destroy marriage!!! People are still getting married as far as I know. If they were serious about "protecting marriage" wouldn't they lobby for outlawing divorce??? Or start having fixed/arranged marriages??
To the Christians who actually are humanists, who step outside the usual interpretations, I sincerely tip my hat to you. Please speak up and rebel against the fearloving dramaticans who hold our society back from progressing to its full potential. Believers and non believers should be able to live side by side, without either side creating an exclusive club against the other........there should be enough self-understanding and understanding of the human condition to where we wouldn't allow ourselves to go astray. At least, that's the ideal.....but we know that people generally use their beliefs to "become" something amongst their tribe. The typical tribal mindset likes to create the "us and them".....which holds us back from just creating an "us" mindset.
Actually I'm sure that this applies to any country......not just the US. If people step outside the box, become free thinkers, and humanists then progress can happen.
Thanks for reading.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
rotten tropicana
the flavor of negativity...its sour fury
my eyes dry, burning, and blurry
bad posture and aching back a bit dull
low sugar, losing my temper over something so small
.......and then my young nephew sings a song in the other room, makes me laugh
the negativity disappears.
Seems like those moments where the goggles get foggy, something or someone snaps you out of it with a word, a phone call out of the blue, a sentence, a song, a look, or something unexpected. I never expect them, usually have to pull myself together on my own.
Sometimes, ya just don't feel good, and your body/mind can't see the light, or get untangled.
my eyes dry, burning, and blurry
bad posture and aching back a bit dull
low sugar, losing my temper over something so small
.......and then my young nephew sings a song in the other room, makes me laugh
the negativity disappears.
Seems like those moments where the goggles get foggy, something or someone snaps you out of it with a word, a phone call out of the blue, a sentence, a song, a look, or something unexpected. I never expect them, usually have to pull myself together on my own.
Sometimes, ya just don't feel good, and your body/mind can't see the light, or get untangled.
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