In the mid 1980’s science was pointing to a looming climate catastrophe. I stressed over this for a few years, but finally felt “Que Sera, Sera”. Now, 30+ years later, it is happening just as the science predicted. The scientist’s main concern was for how the destabilizing effects of the ensuing climate extremes would influence […]
Continue reading…Straight Poop on the Paleo Diet
Google [Neanderthals reveal their diet with oldest excrement] for dietary research that’s bound to catch your eye. The shifting and mixed opinions on diet in the late 70’s compelled me to dig into the fundamentals. I thought that nature must offer a more reliable clue as to the optimum diet for our species. I spent […]
Continue reading…Monthly Chapter-64
Fear & Need Born in Nothing
Fear and need are the primal life forces underlying many of my observations. I know this basis often raises more questions than it answers, so clarification is in order. Not that I haven’t tried before… see Fear is the Bottom Line, p.139 and What are the roots of thought? p.602. Well, third time’s a charm, […]
Continue reading…Science Proves Buddha Right!
Google [CBS News When low expectations achieve big results] for research that reveals how one’s expectations get in the way of happiness. This is not to say expectations aren’t useful or natural. Indeed, a kind of natural expectation, or sense of anticipation plays an integral role in survival. This impulse drives all living things to […]
Continue reading…Monthly Chapter-63
Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
Google [Seeking Help For Hoarding] for a brief yet telling report on hoarding. Here is a brief excerpt: At some point I got a lot of stuff,” said Joanne Garland. “I kept too much paper. I kept too many books. I kept too many clothes.” Too much of everything! Garland’s Greenfield, Mass., home is packed […]
Continue reading…Amazon mother
Google [CBS News From Amazon to Garden State] for a story that perfectly exemplifies observations I’ve made on civilization over the last few decades. To be clear, I’m not pro or anti civilization; I simply wish to comprehend its full impact on humanity. Despite the obvious downsides of civilization, we’re never going to turn back […]
Continue reading…Cultivating Character
I find some people in Taoist circles have passionate ideals about cultivating character. Seen from a symptoms point of view, passion arises from fear—the mother of need. The visceral fear arising from feeling one has little control over life drives a need to do something… like cultivate character. Chapter 54 has the only reference relating […]
Continue reading…Monthly Chapter-62
Cultivating Ego
Google [Rats Experience Feelings of Regret] for research discovering that when a rat realizes it made a mistake, its body and brain show signs of regret (1). Research like this challenges the beliefs of human exceptionalism that we’ve been cultivating to support humanity’s “illusion of self” collective ego. Sure, we are different from rats, but […]
Continue reading…Passing judgment is healthy if…
Okay, first we need to stipulate that passing judgment is an innate part of any social animal’s nature… and most especially human animals. I say “most especially” because we lug around many preconceptions that worm their way into our imagination.
Continue reading…Necessity is the Mother
If you’re unfamiliar with the neuroscience behind the illusion of free will, YouTube [Sam Harris on “Free Will”]. He does a good job of addressing the idea of free will, and points out enough compelling evidence to prove that free will is an illusion. Next, please YouTube [Sam Harris on His Debate with Daniel Dennett […]
Continue reading…Monthly Chapter-61
Practice what you preach
The saying, “practice what you preach” makes for an appealing ideal, or for a good put down. Taking it deeper, the idea becomes a source of internal strife. We are capable of imagining ideal behaviors that are completely out of reach… even to the point of being humanly impossible. Yet, we dream away, expecting ourselves […]
Continue reading…Of Mountains, Molehills and the Supernatural
I’ve noticed how we humans appear to have a nearly universal sense of the supernatural. Now, I know devotees of science and atheists might dispute that, at least as far as universal applies to them. They’ll claim they don’t believe in the supernatural. Fair enough, so let me rephrase this… The supernatural sense is essentially […]
Continue reading…Civilized Insanity
Cults akin to ISIS and Nazism help define true human insanity. Nonetheless, the tribal instinct driving such insanity is curiously both sane and universal. This ironic blend inhabits everyone to a degree. So, what drives the ISIS or Nazi fanatic to become so obsessed? How can we remedy this? First, calling acts of insanity evil […]
Continue reading…Monthly Chapter-60
Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior
The gravest existential issue that ancient man’s thoughts confronted was death. Humanity lost “Eden” when symbolic thought supplanted the spontaneous conscious experience that other animals benefit from. Once we acquired an objective sense of past and future, we could worry about death and other possible misfortunes awaiting us in the near and distant future. Simply […]
Continue reading…The Good Old Days
Some profoundly pivotal points in human existence go back at least 3+ million years. First, let’s review the major ones in the order they occurred to provide context for the genetic research covered later in this post. 1) The beginning of the Stone Age (3,400,000+ years ago). Technological innovation began here with the development of […]
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