knowing
We All Know We Don’t Know
I enjoy doing yoga on the beach because I can easily pause to look seaward and skyward to soak in eternity, or glance closer in to bond with my friends, the sand flies and the seagulls around me. Today I got to thinking how small and insignificant we — they and me — are. Then […]
Continue reading…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 […]
Continue reading…“Right state of peaceful mind”
While living in Thailand in the early 60’s, I bought a book on Buddha put out by the Buddhist Society of Ceylon, as I recall. Recently I wanted to find a copy. I finally found a translation by Paul Carus, The Gospel of Buddha Paperback, that matched my version of Buddha’s four noble truths word-for-word […]
Continue reading…Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
The video for this was great, but I waited too long so the video link is gone. 🙁 However, the transcript is still available. Search: Seeking Help For 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. […]
Continue reading…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, I see passion overall as arising from the mother of need — fear. In this case, they fear lack of control over life, which drives their desire to control life… to cultivate character. […]
Continue reading…Necessity is the Mother
If you’re unfamiliar with the neuroscience behind the illusion of freewill, this TED talk, Sam Harris on “Free Will”, is a good listen. If you are familiar, then skip ahead until it gets interesting as he addresses other related issues.
Continue reading…Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior
Modern behavior and an ability to think and have knowledge are two sides of the same coin. Recent discoveries show this goes way back, even before Adam and Eve ;-). Our existential difficulties are a consequence of the unique ability we have for thinking and knowing… and for thinking we know. As chapter 71 says, […]
Continue reading…Alone with Thought
Two recent Science News pieces touch on a core human problem. The problem is, as chapter 71 puts it, “Realizing I don’t’ know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease.” The anthropology book review, Kidding Ourselves, shows the rational side of self-deception. The other, People will take pain over being left alone with their […]
Continue reading…Where does the fault lie?
“The fault lies not in the stars but in ourselves”. That bit of Shakespeare speaks to our ‘modern’ paradigm. ‘Modern’ began with the Renaissance that followed the so-called Dark Ages. Note how these labels bias the view of cultural progress right away in favor of the modern. I see such progress as a two-step forward, […]
Continue reading…