Carl Abbott

Feeling Animal-ness

We “know” humans are animals, biologically speaking. Yet do we really feel we are? In reality, there is a wide gap between our knowledge and our experience. Catching the flu for the “first” time in my life recently offers an example of how thought can distort and pigeonhole reality. Assuming that I caught the flu […]

Pleasure Isn’t Well Being

(First Pass: “Chapter of the Week” 2011) Both pleasure and pain can pull us off balance and dim our sense of well being. This parallels chapter 13’s Favor and disgrace are things that startle. Of course, it is easy to see how pain and disgrace do this, but favor and pleasure? That’s more subtle. The […]

Is Rock Conscious?

A while ago, I attempted to pin down a friend (1) of mine on the subject of consciousness. My view that a rock could be conscious didn’t go over too well. He said, “Words are sounds that gain meaning with use. Saying that a rock is conscious is like saying a rock is alive. That might work […]

See No Evil

While discussing life with a friend the other day the word evil came up. He sees America as an “evil empire” that commits acts of torture that surpass anything al-Qaeda has done. I think he was referring to all the bombs dropped over the last 100 years. In any case, this provided grist for my […]

Keep ’em guessing?

(First Pass: “Chapter of the Week” 2011) The Tao Te Ching is so often terse and vague—especially the original Chinese. I expect one reason is that it points to a reality so often at odds with the story we want to hear. Revealing this point of view less obscurely would feel unsettling, even subversive, to […]

Thou Shalt Not…

I doubt devout Christians are here to take offense, so I’ll propose an 11th Commandment… Thou shalt not take the path of least resistance. It has a nice ring to it, yet I’ll admit it sounds unnatural. Indeed, we evolved to take the path of least resistance. Then again, we didn’t evolve to eat grains, […]

You Are What You Own

The 1st and 2nd of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths (p.604) are spot on in regards to the nature and the cause of humanity’s existential difficulties. While these first Truths are a no-brainer, the remedy offered in his 3rd and 4th Noble Truths turn out to be more subtle. It is easier to identify problems or […]

Priorities

(First Pass: “Chapter of the Week” 2011) Prioritizing life is an important step in managing the demands of life, at least a civilized life. In the wild I suppose circumstance pretty much handle what and when animals do what they do. Having freed ourselves from the drudgery of hunting and gathering whenever we get hungry […]

We!

Knowing that we are all in this together evokes a sense of community and well-being. Not long ago humanity had a narrower view of what we are in all this together involved. Happily, science is showing us just how deep and vast the we of this actually reaches. The Science News article, Inside Job, covers […]

You Know

More than once, I’ve mentioned the likelihood that we put the cart before the horse when it comes to learning, understanding, and knowing. Over the last few years, I’ve become convinced that we only truly understand and learn what we already know intuitively. My suspicions began during our home schooling days as I began seeing […]

Who You Are Determines Who I Am, & Visa Versa

(First Pass: “Chapter of the Week” 2011) This is an interesting perceptual phenomenon. Is it true and real? Hmm, that’s hard to say, which makes it all the more fascinating to ponder. Looking at life through this lens can be helpful, regardless of how true it is. At the very least, it gives insight to […]

An Improper Sense of Awe

I marvel at how seriously some people take prophets of doom. Still, I do understand the apprehension. Certainly, my own apocalyptic sense of life probably accounts for my serious side. True believers in Western religions, i.e., a Judeo-Christian-Islamic worldview, have the end of times Judgment Day (1) to worry about. Being a Taoist lets me […]