It’s time we changed our species’ name from “Homo sapiens” to something else. “Homo sociâlis”, would be my best Linnaeus guess. We are not the great “wise” or “knowing” animal that we claim to be. We are instead more profoundly social than we may realize. Research reported in the Science News article, In-laws transformed early […]
Continue reading…Fear Rules
The 2011 disasters in Japan triggered much anxiety among some people in America. This is curious considering how far removed we are from that experience. Thinking easily exaggerates (or minimizes) reality and makes matters feel even worse than they actually are, or vice versa. Media only adds to this by feeding our fears and needs. […]
Continue reading…Nothing’s Certain but Death and…
They say that nothing is certain but death and taxes. I’d add to that the certainty of spending! The ongoing debate over spending, taxes, and the debt problems that this country faces is a good example of chapter 70’s, My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice, yet no […]
Continue reading…Reward, Fear & Need
Google [Emotion, Cognition, and Mental State Representation Salzman] for research, reported in the Science News’ article, Cerebral Delights, which identifies primary neurological links between fear and need. Perhaps science will eventually discover most everything that is discoverable (1). I have felt for several years that fear stood at the headwaters of all emotions, including those […]
Continue reading…He Who Conquers Self
The details of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths (p.604) vary somewhat depending on the source. I recently dug up the source for the most succinct and useful version that I found in Thailand long ago. At that time, I had a problem with how the Third Noble Truth was stated and so I changed a few […]
Continue reading…Democracy as Myth
All social species need their ‘alpha-male’ for governance even if that’s the queen of a beehive. Being a more complex than bees, human governance is multi-layered and hierarchical to varying degrees. Indeed, the more sophisticated the culture/civilization, the more layers—the more hierarchical. Conversely, our ancestor hunter-gatherers had few, if any, layers — no courts, parliaments, […]
Continue reading…So, You Want Enlightenment, Eh?
There are two phases of enlightenment. One is a sudden flash of knowing, the Zen Satori, as the Japanese call it. I suppose most people experience a degree of this at least sometime in their life. I mean, one’s bastion of belief is bound to crack a bit and let in the light of darkness […]
Continue reading…When Is Attachment Good?
The Tao Te Ching hints that at least some attachment is always good. As chapter 1 allows, Always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. It helps to consider how desire and attachment relate. I consider desire to be like the glue of attachment. Although beneath it all lays the foundation—need […]
Continue reading…Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
I often mention the benefit of watching out for similarity. The more literal translation of chapter 56 puts it this way, Knowing doesn’t speak; speaking doesn’t know. Subdue its sharpness, untie its tangles, Soften its brightness, be the same as dust, This is called profound sameness. Focusing on differences, while often stimulating, is not as […]
Continue reading…The Story Trumps Truth
Viewing life impartially is one of the least stimulating yet most pleasing experiences I know. Biased views, on the other hand, are chock full of emotional tension, highs and lows, loves and hates —exciting yet stressful! Likewise, a good story is exciting, where as plain truth is often boring. While this is evident, Correlations (1) […]
Continue reading…Water in Mind
This morning’s early light and hazy sky brought back memories of arriving at Bokor Hillstation Casino in Cambodia. Light has a nostalgic effect on me as music has for many people. It must be genetic for my mother was also that way. Merely looking up into the sky can transport me back to primordial times, […]
Continue reading…Why God?
Why God? I have not heard this question asked much… if at all. Debate focuses mostly on whose God is true, the nature of God, or does God even exist. I suppose asking “Why do we believe in God” is a zoological inquiry of sorts. That is the place to begin… After all, we are […]
Continue reading…Playing With Dolls
I’ve been amused for years by society’s attempts to blame culture for things that are obviously biological. This is the old nature vs. nurture debate. Naturally, I could never convince others that nature was at least 50% responsible by reasoned debate alone. I suppose those who blame nurture and culture most vociferously, do so because […]
Continue reading…Belief in Nothing is Dangerous
YouTube [Tucson: Descent Into Madness] for the 60 Minutes documentary about a shooting in Arizona. It offers insight into what drives a person to such violence. The perpetrator was Jared Loughner. Excerpts from an interview of two of Jared’s friends are at the end of this post. What caught my attention was when his friends […]
Continue reading…Illusions, Everywhere I Think
I was thinking today about how readily we accept the reality of optical illusions over reasoning illusions. Certainly, the optical illusions are easier to spot. I imagine reason based illusions are not easy to notice because we have such deep-seated faith in what we think. Why do we trust our thinking sixth sense so deeply? […]
Continue reading…Wandering Mind Is Unhappy Mind
Google [Many unhappy returns for wandering minds] for research that supports watchfulness, as I call it. Left-brain science and right-brain Taoist thought are my two best resources for avoiding the Dunning–Kruger effect (p.144). Together they offer points of view from opposite ends of the awareness spectrum. Each balances the other. Alone, either one can mislead. […]
Continue reading…Love
Soon after we met, my future to be wife said, “I love you”. That moment had all the ideal romantic overtones one could ask for… us out in the forest, a moonlit summer’s night. Being the bubble-busting bum I am, I replied with something like, “What do you mean by love? What’s love?” Frankly, the […]
Continue reading…Small ‘t’ Taoists
I got to thinking over yesterday’s Beyond Spooky (p.149) post. In particular, I was wondering what effect, if any; the capitalization of proper names has on Western thought. One thing I appreciate about Chinese characters is the lack of capitalization. The character 道 (dào or tao) means road, way, path; channel, course; way, path; doctrine, […]
Continue reading…Beyond Spooky
The November issue of Science News, Beyond Spooky, was dedicated to “quantum weirdness” (1). I love this side of physics. This “weirdness” may be how it is possible, despite nature’s bio-hoodwink (p.11), to sense more than just the tip-of-the-iceberg of reality. Biology requires living things to perceive reality in a way that promotes survival and […]
Continue reading…My Battle With Tobacco
Researcher say nicotine is as addictive as cocaine. Perhaps, but then I only know the nicotine side of this. My story has many twists and turns which come to an ironic end. If you’re in a hurry for the Taoist aspect, skim some and skip to the ending, The Long Journey’s End. I began smoking […]
Continue reading…