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Who are you? (Part IV)

The social qualities integral to our ancestral hunter-gatherer old way (1) just happen to mirror the core spiritual qualities that the world’s religions promote. That’s no coincidence. Indeed, those innate qualities of harmony we now seek are the very ones we lost when we left the old way for the alluring material benefits and security […]

What Climate Catastrophy?

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 science predicted. The scientist’s main concern was for how the destabilizing effects of the ensuing climate extremes would influence […]

Straight Poop on the Paleo Diet

Google [Neanderthals reveal their diet with oldest excrement] for dietary research that really caught my eye. The shifting and mixed opinions on diet finally drove me in the late 70’s to look outside this box. Nature must surely offer more reliable clues to the optimum diet for our species. I spent weeks at the central […]

Fear & Need Born in Nothing

Fear and need are the underlying principles for most of my observations. I know this rationale often raises more questions than it answers, so more clarification is in order. Not that I haven’t tried before… see Even a little progress is freedom from fear, p.30; Fear is the Bottom Line, p.139; Reward, Fear & Need, […]

Science Proves Buddha Right!

Google [CBS News When low expectations achieve big results] for research that reveals how we shoot ourselves in the foot with our expectations. This drives yet another nail into the coffin of faith-based wishful thinking. This is not to say expectations aren’t useful or natural. Indeed, considered from a Symptoms Point Of View, they help […]

Cultivating Character

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 […]

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 we’ve been cultivating to support our “illusion of self”— humanity’s collective ego, so to speak. Sure, we are different […]

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 […]

Remember the Disease

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty that I repeatedly make the same essential points. Then I remember the necessity of constant watchful review. This is akin to attempting to maintain balance under wobbly physical circumstances. Surely, psycho-emotional circumstances are no less demanding, balance-wise. Whew! My guilt subsides as I remember the secret of living balance… […]

You are Immortal!

Preface: Undoubtedly, our brain’s mind inherently needs a story for its thoughts to play out. The following “immortality” story is worth considering as it may offer what chapter 16 hints as, The way therefore long enduring, nearly rising beyond oneself. Note, the ‘dao’ of immortality comes at a cost and thus offers no happy home […]

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