To love somebody is to desire for its endurance and development in a certain beautiful way.
To love someone is to desire its own endurance and its own development in its own, unpredictable, way... whatever it may be... like the flourishing of a flower of which we only know the seed.
Its the difference between making an object (shaping it) and nurturing someone (giving the conditions for its flourishing).
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Organizing Religions
Religions are very complex things and people live them in very different ways, so, I don't think it is possible to exactly categorize each kind of religion. But in a very superficial, incomplete and simplified way we could say that:
Of course, all of this is wrong. Mainly because religions preach and promote lots of different things and people that practice them live them in very different ways. In any case, it seems an interesting, perspective, because, even if highly incomplete, it gives a kind of draft, a gist, that has some insight to it.
- Chaos / anarchy - needs obedience
- Judaism and Islam mainly preaches faith
- Christianity mainly preaches love
- Budhism mainly preaches release
- Skepticism mainly preaches understanding
- Understanding just understands the sea of ignorance in which we are, and attempts to sail it as well as it can.
Of course, all of this is wrong. Mainly because religions preach and promote lots of different things and people that practice them live them in very different ways. In any case, it seems an interesting, perspective, because, even if highly incomplete, it gives a kind of draft, a gist, that has some insight to it.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saving ecstasy for tomorrow - survival and submission for today
The interests of the individual may be very different from the interests of the community that he inhabits. Less obviously, the publicized interests of the community may not reveal the true interests that lead to such publicization.
For instance, humans are very diverse, but societies demand a more uniform outlook on the part of the individual, so it is necessary to transform that diversity into something more uniform. In some places obedience is cultivated, order is the highest value, while in other places gentleness, fairness and freedom are praised. But in all cases the individual must accept the higher value of social order. As Richard Morgan bluntly put it:
"Society is, always has been and always will be a structure for the exploitation and oppression of the majority through systems of political force dictated by an élite, enforced by thugs, uniformed or not, and upheld by a willful ignorance and stupidity on the part of the very majority whom the system oppresses."
However if one such human being tries to find "the truth" he may, at some point, discover himself among the company of lunatics, running from nowhere to nowhere, guided only by shreds of impossible illusions, protected by their stupidity from the larger world around.
Such a person might even discover that the world is full of magic and pleasure, and it is, most of the time, easy and free... but because we can't really see the beauty and face our own limits, frailty and ephemeral nature, we are unable to appreciate or enjoy it fully. And so we condemn the very same things that could save us: sex, promiscuity, infidelity, uncertainty, mystery, the inspiring creative power of the animal, the beauty of living the unknown, the inability to be guided because there are no guides, recognizing that the lies are nothing but jokes, the lies which provide the fundament for religion, politics and even family... We condemn the cure (truth and ecstasy) and praise the poison (lies and submission to them)... why?
Because, in human society, filled with such diversity in personalities, the first requirement for survival is uniformity. Survival is more important than truth or pleasure. It is more important than having a good life.
So, the person who really searches for truth would perhaps sometimes rise to see all around her in such a different way. As if misery was necessary for survival. If only there were more like her. If only they could live in peace and ecstasy...
For instance, humans are very diverse, but societies demand a more uniform outlook on the part of the individual, so it is necessary to transform that diversity into something more uniform. In some places obedience is cultivated, order is the highest value, while in other places gentleness, fairness and freedom are praised. But in all cases the individual must accept the higher value of social order. As Richard Morgan bluntly put it:
"Society is, always has been and always will be a structure for the exploitation and oppression of the majority through systems of political force dictated by an élite, enforced by thugs, uniformed or not, and upheld by a willful ignorance and stupidity on the part of the very majority whom the system oppresses."
However if one such human being tries to find "the truth" he may, at some point, discover himself among the company of lunatics, running from nowhere to nowhere, guided only by shreds of impossible illusions, protected by their stupidity from the larger world around.
Such a person might even discover that the world is full of magic and pleasure, and it is, most of the time, easy and free... but because we can't really see the beauty and face our own limits, frailty and ephemeral nature, we are unable to appreciate or enjoy it fully. And so we condemn the very same things that could save us: sex, promiscuity, infidelity, uncertainty, mystery, the inspiring creative power of the animal, the beauty of living the unknown, the inability to be guided because there are no guides, recognizing that the lies are nothing but jokes, the lies which provide the fundament for religion, politics and even family... We condemn the cure (truth and ecstasy) and praise the poison (lies and submission to them)... why?
Because, in human society, filled with such diversity in personalities, the first requirement for survival is uniformity. Survival is more important than truth or pleasure. It is more important than having a good life.
So, the person who really searches for truth would perhaps sometimes rise to see all around her in such a different way. As if misery was necessary for survival. If only there were more like her. If only they could live in peace and ecstasy...
The best life
I think we would all like to live the best life possible. Given our present circumstances we strive to the best life possible in the present circumstances.
That's what I'd expect. But, in practice, I'm just an animal. I go around a few well-trodden routines, entrenched habits and familiar desires. It's just like a carrousel. Computer, cookies, kisses, tv, entertainment, sports, some reading and thinking and back to the same routines.
This is on "vacation time" when free time is abundant. When working my time is scheduled, organized to the last bit, it is always far from enough, so that even the time to rest from work is more frequently than not, occupied with work.
We don't want the best life, we don't even think about it. We just go about from one day to the next following the well-trodden paths of before. We are animals of habit, we go round and round, that's how we like it. We behave like machines or instinctive animals in this respect: we don't actually think on what's best for us. On the different alternatives, on their ups and downs. We just live the moment as if the rest did not exist.
I know that many people praise "living the moment". And perhaps they're right if it means that everything we are is put into "now", and so this "now" is the best it can be, because all my aspirations, inspirations, deviations, desires and so on, concur to make me dance this way, talk this way, smile this way or simply walk that way.
But I'm not speaking about that. I'm speaking about the fragmented way of living the moment, a way of living life in which we forget who we are, what we want, what is important to us, and we may be hours shopping, playing video games, watching movies, and, somewhere in the day, when we wake up from all that frantic emotion, we realize, once more, that we are just "wasting" life. That all our dreams are waiting to be fulfilled or, at least, fought for. That we are waiting in the background, to be heard, felt, fulfilled, realized.
All that time, when those hardcore emotions beat our mind and heart, we fell silently in the background. Yes! We are living the moment, but what kind of "living" is that? What is the price we pay for that? A fragmented life, where we are ensnared by pleasures and pains, desires and fears, going from side to side, aching to reach, but nothing being desired from "within".
The problem with the "best life" is that it does not seem easy to achieve (at least to me). Some people, like Rajneesh, emphasize the "trusting" aspect. Be like a fool, learn to trust even in the face of abyss, even falling into the abyss. Certainly there is an element of trust in the best life. But being blind to the outside and hearing only our inner wishes is, it seems to me, close to be closed to the world. We might be living great adventures in our own mind, but the beauty of what is happening outside will not reach us. It will be difficult to grow. Instead we will be more and more convinced of our own greatness, more and more out of contact with everything else. Growing into a tower of illusions, being the king of nothing.
That does not seem the best life.
But, if we follow the opposite direction and try to rationalize everything, dismissing our inner follies as "irrelevant" follies, and living only for "respectable" goals we'll gain respectability loosing authenticity. We'll sell out what we truly are to gain the acceptance of others, not acceptance of our "true self", which will remain hidden from view even from our own eyes, but acceptance of the self we created in accordance with what was expected. It is a life of fakery where all accomplishments and deeds are accomplishments and deeds that do not really interest us, as if we are unwilling participants of a theater, a play that bores us to death. In the end, we may get a big applause, but we'll feel, if anything, nauseous from the wasted time. As if all the grandeur we managed to gain, is nothing but a mask to hide the true failure that our life has became.
Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that there is a "true self" or, at least, a true vocation, desire or intuition. Perhaps this is just another illusion. But I am describing my life, how I see it and live it. I do need to follow my inner instincts. For me, whenever I get lost of them, I really get lost, and no amount of "external" fulfillment is able to make up for that frustration. If I have a dream, no external riches can compensate for its despise.
So, to have a good life I need at least three things: to be attentive to the outside and to let the inside flow and be listened to. The third thing is the active attempt to combine the two. Only in this combination does life starts to make any sense at all.
And this is just a small tip to have a good life. I am nowhere near knowing, even if it's just for me, how on earth one can strive to have a good life.
loose everything that is important in life. We will certainly do much but accomplish little or nothing at all. For our actions will be out of touch with the
That's what I'd expect. But, in practice, I'm just an animal. I go around a few well-trodden routines, entrenched habits and familiar desires. It's just like a carrousel. Computer, cookies, kisses, tv, entertainment, sports, some reading and thinking and back to the same routines.
This is on "vacation time" when free time is abundant. When working my time is scheduled, organized to the last bit, it is always far from enough, so that even the time to rest from work is more frequently than not, occupied with work.
We don't want the best life, we don't even think about it. We just go about from one day to the next following the well-trodden paths of before. We are animals of habit, we go round and round, that's how we like it. We behave like machines or instinctive animals in this respect: we don't actually think on what's best for us. On the different alternatives, on their ups and downs. We just live the moment as if the rest did not exist.
I know that many people praise "living the moment". And perhaps they're right if it means that everything we are is put into "now", and so this "now" is the best it can be, because all my aspirations, inspirations, deviations, desires and so on, concur to make me dance this way, talk this way, smile this way or simply walk that way.
But I'm not speaking about that. I'm speaking about the fragmented way of living the moment, a way of living life in which we forget who we are, what we want, what is important to us, and we may be hours shopping, playing video games, watching movies, and, somewhere in the day, when we wake up from all that frantic emotion, we realize, once more, that we are just "wasting" life. That all our dreams are waiting to be fulfilled or, at least, fought for. That we are waiting in the background, to be heard, felt, fulfilled, realized.
All that time, when those hardcore emotions beat our mind and heart, we fell silently in the background. Yes! We are living the moment, but what kind of "living" is that? What is the price we pay for that? A fragmented life, where we are ensnared by pleasures and pains, desires and fears, going from side to side, aching to reach, but nothing being desired from "within".
The problem with the "best life" is that it does not seem easy to achieve (at least to me). Some people, like Rajneesh, emphasize the "trusting" aspect. Be like a fool, learn to trust even in the face of abyss, even falling into the abyss. Certainly there is an element of trust in the best life. But being blind to the outside and hearing only our inner wishes is, it seems to me, close to be closed to the world. We might be living great adventures in our own mind, but the beauty of what is happening outside will not reach us. It will be difficult to grow. Instead we will be more and more convinced of our own greatness, more and more out of contact with everything else. Growing into a tower of illusions, being the king of nothing.
That does not seem the best life.
But, if we follow the opposite direction and try to rationalize everything, dismissing our inner follies as "irrelevant" follies, and living only for "respectable" goals we'll gain respectability loosing authenticity. We'll sell out what we truly are to gain the acceptance of others, not acceptance of our "true self", which will remain hidden from view even from our own eyes, but acceptance of the self we created in accordance with what was expected. It is a life of fakery where all accomplishments and deeds are accomplishments and deeds that do not really interest us, as if we are unwilling participants of a theater, a play that bores us to death. In the end, we may get a big applause, but we'll feel, if anything, nauseous from the wasted time. As if all the grandeur we managed to gain, is nothing but a mask to hide the true failure that our life has became.
Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that there is a "true self" or, at least, a true vocation, desire or intuition. Perhaps this is just another illusion. But I am describing my life, how I see it and live it. I do need to follow my inner instincts. For me, whenever I get lost of them, I really get lost, and no amount of "external" fulfillment is able to make up for that frustration. If I have a dream, no external riches can compensate for its despise.
So, to have a good life I need at least three things: to be attentive to the outside and to let the inside flow and be listened to. The third thing is the active attempt to combine the two. Only in this combination does life starts to make any sense at all.
And this is just a small tip to have a good life. I am nowhere near knowing, even if it's just for me, how on earth one can strive to have a good life.
loose everything that is important in life. We will certainly do much but accomplish little or nothing at all. For our actions will be out of touch with the
Sunday, February 6, 2011
destruction of the planet vs global warming
It is certainly true that we are transforming the planet Earth from Paradise to Hell. It may take thousands of years but pollution, devastation of natural resources and overpopulation are creating a world where nature's diversity will be reduced, scarcity will grow, and we will live in ugly places, surrounded by toxic products, away from the nature that inspires us. (wait, that already happens!)
We need to protect our planet, to reduce consumption, to recycle, to integrate with nature... if we fail in that our children's children will be forced to live in a desolate world.
Replacing this tragic image of the world we are destroying with a debate on whether the planet will warm up or not, by how much, and whether we are at the root of its warming up, is absolutely criminal.
We need to protect our planet, to reduce consumption, to recycle, to integrate with nature... if we fail in that our children's children will be forced to live in a desolate world.
Replacing this tragic image of the world we are destroying with a debate on whether the planet will warm up or not, by how much, and whether we are at the root of its warming up, is absolutely criminal.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Jared Lee Loughner - such complicated theories, such lack of love
Jared Lee Loughner's mug shot.(Pima County Sheriff's Office)
How incredibly sad...
to see such times when an apparently lucid and intelligent person thinks it's legitimate to take away the lives of other people, just to spread an idea (furthermore an idea that is easily available to anyone that seeks it)...
The level of despise one must have... for the "controlled" ones.
And what does Jared gain with that? The spread of his new "currency". Which means, basically, the understanding that
"I am conscience dreaming"
Ok! So we are conscience dreaming, so we can build our values, our lifestyle, many times unconsciously determined by the language that we use. So, if we perceive that, we can control where we live, what we eat, what we do and think, what we desire! So what m*****f*****? Do you think it's ok to kill people just to spread your message? Don't you know what a forum is? Why should people care?
This guy comes up with sentences like:
"What's government if words don't have meaning?"
They don't have meaning for you, but they do reflect the will, the aspirations, the problems, of millions of voters, dumb f***!!
You destroyed the lives of many people, many families, you tarnished with the smell of homicide interesting thinkers and ideologies (now associated with this massacre), and all of that will have visible consequences for (at least) decades to come...
And yet you smile...
You have no idea on what you have done.
Yes!! Let's give out your great idea:
"All conscience dreaming at this moment is asleep
Jared Loughner is conscience dreaming at this moment
Thus, Jared Loughner is asleep"
And let's give out the great hope that you have, to let "literate people" find that they have the power of creating their own "currency", their own values, their own interpretation of the world. That they can develop "lucid dreaming"... Discovering that they are nothing but conscience dreaming of that moment.
Ok! Message delivered! But I would like to get a much simpler message to you... Who were so blind with discovering your freedom and distributing your new "currency" that you forgot the simplest thing:
RESPECT FOR OTHERS!!!!
you M****F****! How do you expect people will respect you or your vision if you have no respect for others! What kind of horrendous effigy did you choose for your coins?
You're lucky if they'll give you the death penalty. If you're considered crazy you'll spend the rest of your life living the hell of one of your once favorite book: not over but inside the Cuckoos nest!
Such complicated theories, such lack of love.
This reminds of the Matrix and all of those movies where lives can be taken to reach some higher goal! Jared, man, you're no better than all those other warmongers out there. Were you trying to free people? Man! We're already free! We just like hanging on to something.
Where is this society going to?
Sources:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/jared-lee-loughner-friend-voicemail-phone-message
http://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Lee_Loughner
http://Myspace.com/fallenasleep (deleted)
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Trivial but important
obviously, a true theory must work. But false theories may also work.
For instance, the geocentric model allows us to predict when the sun will rise, movements of the stars and planets, etc.
sometimes, to get even a small amount of improvement in what the theory can do, we must radically change the assumptions that are at its base. (like in the Copernican revolution, or passing from Newtonian gravity as attraction to Einstein's gravity as spatio-temporal deformation).
Now, why wouldn't the same distinction apply to "oriental" theories about the inner self. I mean the fact that, for instance, searching for fluidity works, augments inspiration, etc, only proves that it works. Which, in itself, is an important achievement. I mean, it's not everyday that one finds something that works.
But to deduce, from the fact that it works, that the assumed metaphysics is correct (that chi is really an energy that exists, for instance), is something completely different.
To be clear, one should assume only that a particular method works and ascribe, at most, a certain probability to the associated metaphysical view to be correct.
Confusing the usefulness of a theory to its truth leads to gigantic negative consequences, like people believing in the truth of religions and so on (which work rather well in some dimensions and paths), which in turn leads to despising or looking down on people who don't agree with our metaphysics, lack of communication and understanding, attempting to "teach" the other and defend our view from others' skepticism, making groups of people who are intolerant of others or that proselytize to others, wars, death, unimaginable suffering.
And it all started with a very small mistake, almost to small to seem important.
For instance, the geocentric model allows us to predict when the sun will rise, movements of the stars and planets, etc.
sometimes, to get even a small amount of improvement in what the theory can do, we must radically change the assumptions that are at its base. (like in the Copernican revolution, or passing from Newtonian gravity as attraction to Einstein's gravity as spatio-temporal deformation).
Now, why wouldn't the same distinction apply to "oriental" theories about the inner self. I mean the fact that, for instance, searching for fluidity works, augments inspiration, etc, only proves that it works. Which, in itself, is an important achievement. I mean, it's not everyday that one finds something that works.
But to deduce, from the fact that it works, that the assumed metaphysics is correct (that chi is really an energy that exists, for instance), is something completely different.
To be clear, one should assume only that a particular method works and ascribe, at most, a certain probability to the associated metaphysical view to be correct.
Confusing the usefulness of a theory to its truth leads to gigantic negative consequences, like people believing in the truth of religions and so on (which work rather well in some dimensions and paths), which in turn leads to despising or looking down on people who don't agree with our metaphysics, lack of communication and understanding, attempting to "teach" the other and defend our view from others' skepticism, making groups of people who are intolerant of others or that proselytize to others, wars, death, unimaginable suffering.
And it all started with a very small mistake, almost to small to seem important.
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