I’ve found that some people in Taoist circles have passionate ideals about cultivating one’s character. Seen from a symptoms point of view, passion stems from the mother of need — fear. The visceral fear arising from feeling little control over life drives a need to do something… such as cultivate character. Chapter 54 has the […]
Continue reading…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). This finding is yet another nail in the coffin of human ‘exceptionalism’. Sure, we are different from rats, but so are butterflies and cats. Research like this truly […]
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 that proves that free will is an illusion. Next, please YouTube: Sam Harris on His Debate with Daniel Dennett […]
Continue reading…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 our species appears to have a universal sense of the supernatural. Now, I know science types and atheists will probably 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… Supernatural essentially amounts to our mind’s […]
Continue reading…Civilized Insanity
Cults like ISIS and the Nazis help define true human insanity. Ironically however, the tribal instinct driving such insanity is both sane and universal. It arises in all of us to various degrees. So, what drives the fanatic ISIS or Nazi follower to go over the edge? And what is is the best way to […]
Continue reading…Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior
The gravest existential issue that ancient man’s thinking confronted was death. Once symbolic thought evolved, humanity stepped out of the spontaneous conscious experience other animals likely benefit from. Once we acquired an objective sense of past and future, we could worry about death and other virtual losses beyond a moment to-moment experience. For worrywarts, that […]
Continue reading…The Good Old Days
Some profoundly pivotal points in human existence go back at least 3+ million years. First, let’s review major pivotal points in the order they occurred to provide context for genetic research covered later in this post. (photo: written in bone) 1) The beginning of the Stone Age (3,400,000+ years ago). Technological innovation began here with […]
Continue reading…Modus Operandi
Life following the agricultural revolution has been a period of exponential growth in technological change affecting every aspect of human existence. Youth compared to the elderly are much more inclined to be comfortable with such change, even embrace it. Rash actions excite younger folks. Considering this through the lens of chapter 16, “Not knowing the […]
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