69) The supernatural is no different from the natural. The supernatural is simply an aspect of the natural, the knowledge of which has perhaps been lost or is yet to be discovered.
70) The logical mind has difficulty in dealing with allegory, symbolism, mythology and archetypes because the logical mind is often reluctant to acknowledge its limitations. Nevertheless, the limitations of the logical mind are unquestionably real.
71) If we take the literalism and politics out of religion we rediscover a mystery.
72) Is to "turn water into wine" an allegory of the transformation that has taken place in a man who can Be and Act in accordance with what he Knows and Understands?
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Philosophical Musings 65-68
65) There is a tendency nowadays to think of truth in terms of factual information which has been verified. While this may tell us the truth of what we are in terms of mechanics it cannot tell us the truth of what we are psychologically and physiologically in the moment in a way that enables us to act selflessly and appropriately. What is the point of knowing everything there is to know about the human body and the energies which run through it if through one flash of uncontrollable anger we create havoc, even danger. As one remarkable man once said, it is like knowing everything there is to know about money without having any money in the bank.
66) To be touched by kindness, warmth and compassion is to be touched by the Truth, and if such kindness, warmth and compassion is exhibited by those we violently disagree with then so much the better for us.
67) Sometimes I think of the thoughts that are racing around inside my head, which want to shove my subjective opinions down someone else's throat, as being like a seperate creature or a fly that I would like to swat. But the fly is elusive and eventually flies away before it returns, again and again. The fly lives on auto-pilot. There is no need for me to do the same for every second of my life.
68) We all have negative emotions which from time to time possess us and even eat away at us. I think of Purgatory as being the friction between the desire to express such negative emotions and the knowledge that the expression of them cannot serve me
66) To be touched by kindness, warmth and compassion is to be touched by the Truth, and if such kindness, warmth and compassion is exhibited by those we violently disagree with then so much the better for us.
67) Sometimes I think of the thoughts that are racing around inside my head, which want to shove my subjective opinions down someone else's throat, as being like a seperate creature or a fly that I would like to swat. But the fly is elusive and eventually flies away before it returns, again and again. The fly lives on auto-pilot. There is no need for me to do the same for every second of my life.
68) We all have negative emotions which from time to time possess us and even eat away at us. I think of Purgatory as being the friction between the desire to express such negative emotions and the knowledge that the expression of them cannot serve me
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Philosophical Musings 61-64
61) Righteous indignation can neither know Conscience nor Reason; its energy is too coarse.
62) The more insistent we are about the need for explanations, and the more we make demands for 'evidence', the more we drive a wedge between ourselves and our capacity for emotional understanding and genuine intuition.
63) If the Holy Ghost acts through a pure quality of attention and a complete absence of egoism then to "be with child by the Holy Ghost" may well mean to be with child as a result of a sexual union where there was a pure quality of attention and a complete absence of egoism.
64) We usually think of vanity in terms of someone who likes to blow their own trumpet. However, perhaps there is a more pernicious and less obvious form of vanity - the vanity of not being able to view our limitations realistically. So long as we exaggerate our capacity for making the world a better place, there is vanity. So long as we exaggerate our capacity for coming up with sound ideas with which to make the world a better place, there is vanity. As has been said before, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
62) The more insistent we are about the need for explanations, and the more we make demands for 'evidence', the more we drive a wedge between ourselves and our capacity for emotional understanding and genuine intuition.
63) If the Holy Ghost acts through a pure quality of attention and a complete absence of egoism then to "be with child by the Holy Ghost" may well mean to be with child as a result of a sexual union where there was a pure quality of attention and a complete absence of egoism.
64) We usually think of vanity in terms of someone who likes to blow their own trumpet. However, perhaps there is a more pernicious and less obvious form of vanity - the vanity of not being able to view our limitations realistically. So long as we exaggerate our capacity for making the world a better place, there is vanity. So long as we exaggerate our capacity for coming up with sound ideas with which to make the world a better place, there is vanity. As has been said before, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Philosophical Musings 57-60
57) The assumed intellectual superiority of the atheist is as bogus as the assumed moral superiority of the pious.
58) Those who are gentle but firm in discouraging us from asserting our own cleverness are doing us a great favour.
59) We owe a huge debt of gratitutude to whomsoever bruises our egos, egos we would be better off without.
60) The mystery of the existence of God and what happens to us at death will always be with us and will never be solved through our usual forms of automatic thinking, irrespective of whether such thinking is from an atheistic perspective or a "so-called" religious perspective.
58) Those who are gentle but firm in discouraging us from asserting our own cleverness are doing us a great favour.
59) We owe a huge debt of gratitutude to whomsoever bruises our egos, egos we would be better off without.
60) The mystery of the existence of God and what happens to us at death will always be with us and will never be solved through our usual forms of automatic thinking, irrespective of whether such thinking is from an atheistic perspective or a "so-called" religious perspective.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Philosophical Musings 53-56
53) Until we are conscious of the contents of the subconscious we should be ashamed to claim that we can know God or to deny His existence.
54) We come closer to understanding by trying to sense what is behind the words and phrases that we might hear or read, rather than taking issue with them or thinking about them too superficially.
55) Without mystery there is no life.
56) Information is information. Experience is Knowledge
54) We come closer to understanding by trying to sense what is behind the words and phrases that we might hear or read, rather than taking issue with them or thinking about them too superficially.
55) Without mystery there is no life.
56) Information is information. Experience is Knowledge
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Philosophical Musings 49-52
49) Intelligence is far too generous a word to be wasted on intellectuals.
50) We neither need secularism 'more than ever' nor a return to religion in its corrupted and degenerative state. What we need is to be able to act with more kindness and compassion and impartiality, unaffected by other people's chemistry. We can start by having the humility to question our opinions and our constant need to justify them.
51) In order to know 'the Truth', as opposed to 'our truth', a very refined quality of energy has to penetrate the human heart.
52) If we think about the way we use the words 'faith' and 'belief', when removed from their ordinary religious associations, we realise that they mean something quite different. We are quite open to the fact that we may have been naive to believe something which turns out to be untrue whereas we say that we have faith in something or someone because of the confidence that previous and repeated experience gives us.
50) We neither need secularism 'more than ever' nor a return to religion in its corrupted and degenerative state. What we need is to be able to act with more kindness and compassion and impartiality, unaffected by other people's chemistry. We can start by having the humility to question our opinions and our constant need to justify them.
51) In order to know 'the Truth', as opposed to 'our truth', a very refined quality of energy has to penetrate the human heart.
52) If we think about the way we use the words 'faith' and 'belief', when removed from their ordinary religious associations, we realise that they mean something quite different. We are quite open to the fact that we may have been naive to believe something which turns out to be untrue whereas we say that we have faith in something or someone because of the confidence that previous and repeated experience gives us.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Philosophical Musings 45-48
45) Debating is nearly always 'points-scoring' not truth seeking.
46) If, after a debate, my opinions are as fixed as they were before I enterered into the debate then the interaction has done nothing to bring me to a new understanding of something and has almost certainly been a waste of time.
47) Technological evolution is not necessarily synonomous with human evolution.
48) Shakespeare said far more with the English language, when there were far fewer words at his disposal than there are now, than perhaps any of us are capable of today.
46) If, after a debate, my opinions are as fixed as they were before I enterered into the debate then the interaction has done nothing to bring me to a new understanding of something and has almost certainly been a waste of time.
47) Technological evolution is not necessarily synonomous with human evolution.
48) Shakespeare said far more with the English language, when there were far fewer words at his disposal than there are now, than perhaps any of us are capable of today.
Philosophical Musings 41-44
41) Those who are impatient to do away with those things which have very deep roots in our culture, no matter how irrational aspects of such things seem or even are, may well do far more damage than they could ever have envisaged.
42) What has come to be known as the 'new atheism' is simply replacing one form of superstition with another, which is the worship of the intellect as a form of cognition of far greater value than any other form of cognition. However the intellect alone is completely inept when it comes to knowing how to drive a car or ride a bicycle; such knowledge can only be acquired by the intelligence of the body. Likewise, the intellect alone cannot understand feeling, cannot even sense what another person is feeling and it is genuine feeling which gives colour to life.
43) If we are capable of observing ouselves we will see that the intellect, feeling and the intelligence of the body all work at different tempos and that this is at the root of many of our difficulties.
44) The origin of the word 'religion' is believed to come from the Latin verb 'religare' meaning to 'reconnect'. Could this 'reconnection' have originally meant working towards a greater balance of our intellectual, emotional and physical energies which, at the same time, may give us forms of perception that are available to us only when the intellectual, the emotional and the physical are working harmoniously together?
42) What has come to be known as the 'new atheism' is simply replacing one form of superstition with another, which is the worship of the intellect as a form of cognition of far greater value than any other form of cognition. However the intellect alone is completely inept when it comes to knowing how to drive a car or ride a bicycle; such knowledge can only be acquired by the intelligence of the body. Likewise, the intellect alone cannot understand feeling, cannot even sense what another person is feeling and it is genuine feeling which gives colour to life.
43) If we are capable of observing ouselves we will see that the intellect, feeling and the intelligence of the body all work at different tempos and that this is at the root of many of our difficulties.
44) The origin of the word 'religion' is believed to come from the Latin verb 'religare' meaning to 'reconnect'. Could this 'reconnection' have originally meant working towards a greater balance of our intellectual, emotional and physical energies which, at the same time, may give us forms of perception that are available to us only when the intellectual, the emotional and the physical are working harmoniously together?
Philosophical Musings 37-40
37) 'To do unto others as we would have ourselves be done by' is advice that is difficult to disagree with. Perhaps we can start by refraining from heaping scorn and ridicule on those we consider to be less intellectually agile than we ourselves are.
38) We can only understand and know what God is in those rare moments when we are completely free of egoism.
39) It is extraordinary that we delude ourselves into thinking we are qualified to comment on how to resolve the conflicts in the outside world when we cannot even resolve the conflicts raging inside ourselves.
40) 'I and my Father are one'. What do these words mean? Not literally, but allegorically or psychologically? Usually we are not one but many, a whole range of moods and reactions which exhibit contradictions and inconsistencies which others can see in us far more easily than we ourselves can. Perhaps 'I and my Father are one' when 'I' am able to act and speak free of inconsistencies and contradictions and according to an Objective Conscience.
38) We can only understand and know what God is in those rare moments when we are completely free of egoism.
39) It is extraordinary that we delude ourselves into thinking we are qualified to comment on how to resolve the conflicts in the outside world when we cannot even resolve the conflicts raging inside ourselves.
40) 'I and my Father are one'. What do these words mean? Not literally, but allegorically or psychologically? Usually we are not one but many, a whole range of moods and reactions which exhibit contradictions and inconsistencies which others can see in us far more easily than we ourselves can. Perhaps 'I and my Father are one' when 'I' am able to act and speak free of inconsistencies and contradictions and according to an Objective Conscience.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Philosophical Musings 33-36
33) When certain events are so shocking that they make us uncontrollably angry it is wise for us to wait until the anger has been transformed into the more positive emotion of profound sadness before deciding how we should act.
34) Nearly all our criticism of other people is not only unconscious but rooted in our inability to understand how difficult it is for them to change and accommodate themselves to our own subjective view of the world.
35) We should be wary of having too much pride in what we believe to be our strengths. They have a shadow side that can turn them into weaknesses.
36) If we think we understand precisely the nuanced language of texts written several hundred, perhaps thousands of years ago, we are not only somewhat brave but extremely foolish. The shades of meaning of many words change over time and the same word may well have had a completely different effect on readers of 400 or 500 years ago from the effect it has on readers today.
34) Nearly all our criticism of other people is not only unconscious but rooted in our inability to understand how difficult it is for them to change and accommodate themselves to our own subjective view of the world.
35) We should be wary of having too much pride in what we believe to be our strengths. They have a shadow side that can turn them into weaknesses.
36) If we think we understand precisely the nuanced language of texts written several hundred, perhaps thousands of years ago, we are not only somewhat brave but extremely foolish. The shades of meaning of many words change over time and the same word may well have had a completely different effect on readers of 400 or 500 years ago from the effect it has on readers today.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Philosophical Musings 29-32
29) If my reason is informed by the coarse energy of emotional reaction, as opposed to the more refined energy of a feeling of genuine quality, then no matter how clever, how coherent, how convincing my reason may seem it can never truly be described as Objective Reason.
30) The current dialogue between atheists and believers is full of dreary and mechanical emotional reaction. By and large, the atheist is reacting to what he perceives as irrational and the believer is reacting to an assault on something he has a sentimental attachment to. Neither reaction is conscious in the true sense of the word.
31) It matters not whether it comes from atheism or religious fervour, the energy of contempt and hostility will always be destructive, lead nowhere and achieve nothing.
32) Life feeds on death and cannot survive without it, a fact too easily ignored nowadays.
30) The current dialogue between atheists and believers is full of dreary and mechanical emotional reaction. By and large, the atheist is reacting to what he perceives as irrational and the believer is reacting to an assault on something he has a sentimental attachment to. Neither reaction is conscious in the true sense of the word.
31) It matters not whether it comes from atheism or religious fervour, the energy of contempt and hostility will always be destructive, lead nowhere and achieve nothing.
32) Life feeds on death and cannot survive without it, a fact too easily ignored nowadays.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Philosophical Musings 25-28
25) To make our point with sarcasm is to not only belittle the object of our sarcasm but to belittle ourselves.
26) When a piece of writing fills us with a sense of self-righteous indignation we need to question the tone of it. To question it is not to dismiss it but to see it in all its positive and negative aspects.
27) To know the measure of something is not to know what it is essentially.
28) Nowadays we are more interested in information than True Knowledge and we confuse the two.
26) When a piece of writing fills us with a sense of self-righteous indignation we need to question the tone of it. To question it is not to dismiss it but to see it in all its positive and negative aspects.
27) To know the measure of something is not to know what it is essentially.
28) Nowadays we are more interested in information than True Knowledge and we confuse the two.
Monday, 7 February 2011
Philosophical Musings 21-24
21) When we are sad, but calm and reflective, we are more awake than usual.
22) God, as a separate entity independent of human beings, does not exist anymore than a human being exists independently of the billions, perhaps trillions, of living cells in the human body.
23) Whatever feeds my sense of superiority, whether it be individual or cultural, shrinks my understanding.
24) Physical strength, unconnected to genuine feeling, is a dreadful brute. Intellectual strength, unconnected to genuine feeling, is an insufferable snob.
22) God, as a separate entity independent of human beings, does not exist anymore than a human being exists independently of the billions, perhaps trillions, of living cells in the human body.
23) Whatever feeds my sense of superiority, whether it be individual or cultural, shrinks my understanding.
24) Physical strength, unconnected to genuine feeling, is a dreadful brute. Intellectual strength, unconnected to genuine feeling, is an insufferable snob.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Philosophical Musings 17-20
17) Suggestibility is far more subtle and insidious than we believe. Those of us who are quick to see suggestibility in others, yet delude ourselves into thinking that we are not suggestible ourselves, are blind to how equally susceptible we are.
18) A man who dares to try to slaughter the sacred cows of both institutional religion and secular atheism is bound to be despised. Even if he speaks the Truth he will not be listened to by many.
19) Simply because our eyes are open doesn't mean to say that we are awake. How many times have we gone into a room only to forget why we went there in the first place? Or how many times have we read a paragraph in a book only to wake up to the fact that we haven't taken in a single word of it?
20) If our concept of God is predominantly abstract there should also be a few black holes in it in order to let the personal in.
18) A man who dares to try to slaughter the sacred cows of both institutional religion and secular atheism is bound to be despised. Even if he speaks the Truth he will not be listened to by many.
19) Simply because our eyes are open doesn't mean to say that we are awake. How many times have we gone into a room only to forget why we went there in the first place? Or how many times have we read a paragraph in a book only to wake up to the fact that we haven't taken in a single word of it?
20) If our concept of God is predominantly abstract there should also be a few black holes in it in order to let the personal in.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Philosophical Musings 13-16
13) The more discomfort we feel at having our ignorance exposed the more it hinders our capacity to learn.
14) The teacher who humiliates a child in front of his peers, because of the child's difficulty in understanding rather than because of the child's misbehaviour, has done very significant damage to that child's education.
15) A course of action has, objectively, 50 factors in its favour and 400 factors against it. A first man cites the 50 factors while arguing articulately, persuasively and forcefully in favour of the course of action. The second man is aware of the 400 factors against the course of action but lacks the first man's oratory skills, cannot articulate himself well and feels uncomfortable in situations where he has to debate such issues. We will always be persuaded by what the first man has to say.
16) To claim to be the voice of Reason, and to condemn those who disagree with us as opponents or enemies of Reason, is as illusory as claiming to be on the side of God and claiming that those who disagree with us are enemies of God. To know Reason, in its pure sense, we need to go beyond conventional scientific or religious thinking.
14) The teacher who humiliates a child in front of his peers, because of the child's difficulty in understanding rather than because of the child's misbehaviour, has done very significant damage to that child's education.
15) A course of action has, objectively, 50 factors in its favour and 400 factors against it. A first man cites the 50 factors while arguing articulately, persuasively and forcefully in favour of the course of action. The second man is aware of the 400 factors against the course of action but lacks the first man's oratory skills, cannot articulate himself well and feels uncomfortable in situations where he has to debate such issues. We will always be persuaded by what the first man has to say.
16) To claim to be the voice of Reason, and to condemn those who disagree with us as opponents or enemies of Reason, is as illusory as claiming to be on the side of God and claiming that those who disagree with us are enemies of God. To know Reason, in its pure sense, we need to go beyond conventional scientific or religious thinking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)