I'm not anthropocentric (Hope I got that right) and think if we as a race wipe ourselves out, it might be the best thing that has happened to the Earth.
For years I worked as an environmental activist and conservationist and I stopped when I found we use far more resources trying to spread environmental awareness without actually cutting down our use of resources. TV channels that claim to be green, don't bat an eyelid about interfering in animal habitat, clearing forests or accepting ads that promote an anti-green way of life. We waste food, we spend thoughtlessly/ waste energy, we hoard and buy and throw away things we have and will never use and then we are apalled that nobody is saving our world.
We live in a market economy where we are constantly told to spend. We love the colour and feel of money. If we can cut more trees and make more money from it (regardless that it will not fetch us fresh water or food one day, we'll still do it.) Some of the most ardent and well meaning conservationists I know spend buckets full of money in talking about saving the earth, without realizing that this itself results in a huge waste of resources.
I'm no saint and have decided that I will use the resources I need to live my life without guilt. If I need to fly I do. But in general I try to reduce my use of resources. I work only as much as I need and I try at an individual level not to hoard money or things, not to waste and to pay no attention to what the media prescribes as fashion. People think I am crazy to not earn as much as possible and hoard and buy up land and so on and so forth but this is my gift to the world...
I'd agree with you but I don't think we are ready yet to become a united world public.
I'm going to go back to my original answer. As a species we still love violence. We spoke about a universal intelligence before...and I have used this argument earlier in a response to a blog but will repeat it here.
If we do share a collective consciousness, as long as there is hatred, conflict and violence within the individual or this consciousness, we will find channels to express that violence in some way. Religion or fanaticism (or war) then merely become an excuse. We have already heard of good reasons to be violent like self defence... Some people are violent in self defence, in ego - defence, patriotism and others defending their notions of their religion. The list is endless but these are merely ways to manifest the violence, they are not causes in themselves.
When we watch violent movies or the news or participate in violence in any form, like hating somebody... We see, enjoy and endorse violence and conflict on a daily basis, as long as we can justify it in some way. We love thrillers, the more conflict the better, revenge is sweet, aggressive patriotism is noble and then we are shocked when we see these things manifest in the real world.
Finally, peace in the outside world will happen when people can find peace within themselves or ...when people find God within themselves. That's when a united world public will materialize till then there will be people spreading violence and others capitalizing on it.
Phew! Saying far too much... I think I'll keep quiet for a bit. Have fun :)
Interesting and what would happen to the armament factories and the Government revenue that is made from selling arms and media revenue for news stories that come from living in a violent society?
In any case what does physical reality mean? Heard of the book called The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. It is a 1985 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks describing the case histories of some of his patients. To people like the man, his wife was a hat, to others she was a real person.
Boban1, if there was another like you, your universe as you know it would collapse. We anyway live on and in worlds of our own making.
I guess to make the world a peaceful place, we need to be at peace with ourselves first. There is conflict at the level of society, at the level of the neighbourhood, in the family and yes there is constant turmoil and disquiet even within ourselves. Stands to reason that there will be quiet outside once we are at peace from within.
We are not a peaceful species. We love and participate in violence of many forms. I like to use the example of how we enjoy violence in movies. As long as we can justify it, it becomes ok. Hence we have the need to create the labels of "good" and "bad", so that in overcoming the "bad", the "good" is justified in being violent.
I think the state of peace whether at the individual level or at the social level is an ideal we aspire to... a stepping stone in our own quest for a divine state.
I'm surprised you keep saying this... Isn't life and death a process? I think with death we only give up our body not much else.. but then that's a whole new can of worms!
Glad for you that you can see things differently and that you went through those experiences.
I remember reading somewhere that very early day scientists thought they could 'create' rats by darkening a room and dumping a pile of wet clothes in it. I believe that it was recorded as a scientific experiment. While we may laugh at their naiviety today, fact is that it was the basis of modern day science and the starting up of the scientific methods.
I'm quite willing to believe that modern day science is totally faulty or inadequate. I guess for me it doesn't really matter if one believes in it or doesn't. I think it is more important to question than to find answers anyway... Much of the learning happens at the stage of asking questions and that is where the true value of science is, in my book.
Thanks Giftmagic. While I don't doubt that you have 'seen' things differently, I think it is a mistake to believe that what you have seen is "the truth". It's a truth that you have been exposed to but given that you are still viewing the profound from a human perspective, even that picture will be limited in some way.
By the same token Darwin's truths were also the truth, but again limited. Teaching children modern day physics is fine, it is part of the truth as we know it. More importantly I believe it is important to teach our children the value of having an open mind. The ability to throw away all they knew that was once the truth. I think 'sin' begins when we close our mind to any possibility or any truth.
And yet I don't think that the mind is everything. I think the human mind is extremely powerful but believe the divine presence that we feel is in a realm that's beyond the mind and thought. I think our brains are like our laptops all connected to the divine internet, which in this case would be something like a vast collective consciousness that transcends cultures, times and states of being. It's the kind of subconscious that could dream up civilizations with a purpose that will never be clear to the characters in it.
I don't know if I have answered any of your questions, but that's what I think...
I read somewhere once "We are not human beings born to have spiritual experiences, but spiritual beings born to have human experiences." I like to believe this... The Eastern way of life allows me to think that we choose our lifetimes and learnings and that it's all an illusion anyway. When we suffer in our lifetimes it's akin to people choosing to watch horror movies, or violent movies... These are experiences. They are not experiences that I'd either want, condone or propogate but others do choose to for their own learning.
And no, finally it doesn't matter to God whether you pray or go to Sunday Mass. It matters to the person who goes and when it stops mattering, it is best that he shouldn't go.
For those who have faith and focus, I think that they should be grateful for receiving that Faith and Focus. These are rare gifts, not all of us have them.
Sorry, I meant all of us on the forum. I'm assuming that people who have the means to get on the Net to search for friends aren't 'struggling' to fulfil basic needs.
God or Darwin? Why not both? They need not be exclusive do they?
I think that our perception of time may be deceptive... We are conditioned to believe in the linear passage from the big bang to date. Maybe our perception is limited and hence our understanding is limited too.
If we were able to look at evolution or consciousness for that matter, from a non human view point and a less limited view point, we might have the answer that you are searching for and then it won't be the monkey that wins :)
Hi can't resist joining in. I think the problem is when one thinks of God in human terms, someone you do business with, someone who gives you something when you ask.
I'm going to add my two bits here :) The first bit is about who I think God is. In my belief God is omnipotent, omnipresent and overwhelmingly there and the moment you can define or label such a presence, you have limited it and it can't be God anymore. Give it a name, a shape, an identity in any way, then it is limited and anything limited can't be God. As for the unlimited, if it is really unlimited and everywhere, it is sure to be in you as well. That's the best place to search for God, in yourself.
The next bit is about asking for things. What is it that you want God to give you? All of us have food to eat, a largely safe environment to live in, distance from war and strife, time to spend searching for joys on the Net. There are a lot of things that we can be grateful for and that we can offer thanks (to whoever for).
Sorry for just butting in, without a proper formal introduction, but hello to everyone anyway.
No matter how sure we are of ourselves, who we are and what we look like, we still need to look into a mirror daily.
When it comes to self esteem, other people play the role of mirrors and thus contribute to ones idea of oneself. It is possible that a mirror may be faulty or may not give us a complete view. When you see something constantly reflected that needs change, change it. When you suspect that the reflection from other people is not really you, do what you do with a faulty mirror, get a new view point.
Eventually over the years, you'll stop looking so deeply at what the outside world projects as your image and you will stop caring so much. I guess that's when self-esteem comes truly from within.
gypsylotts Forum Posts (16)
Thanks for the warning. I was telling myself that and didn't listen.
RE: Are we really a peaceful species...?
I'm not anthropocentric (Hope I got that right) and think if we as a race wipe ourselves out, it might be the best thing that has happened to the Earth.For years I worked as an environmental activist and conservationist and I stopped when I found we use far more resources trying to spread environmental awareness without actually cutting down our use of resources. TV channels that claim to be green, don't bat an eyelid about interfering in animal habitat, clearing forests or accepting ads that promote an anti-green way of life. We waste food, we spend thoughtlessly/ waste energy, we hoard and buy and throw away things we have and will never use and then we are apalled that nobody is saving our world.
We live in a market economy where we are constantly told to spend. We love the colour and feel of money. If we can cut more trees and make more money from it (regardless that it will not fetch us fresh water or food one day, we'll still do it.) Some of the most ardent and well meaning conservationists I know spend buckets full of money in talking about saving the earth, without realizing that this itself results in a huge waste of resources.
I'm no saint and have decided that I will use the resources I need to live my life without guilt. If I need to fly I do. But in general I try to reduce my use of resources. I work only as much as I need and I try at an individual level not to hoard money or things, not to waste and to pay no attention to what the media prescribes as fashion. People think I am crazy to not earn as much as possible and hoard and buy up land and so on and so forth but this is my gift to the world...