symptoms point of view

Trump and the Mandate of Heaven

To better comprehend the Trump phenomenon, I need to examine it from a symptoms point of view (1). After all, judging circumstances at face value easily perpetuates ignorance and exasperates things. First off, I see Donald Trump as mostly symptomatic of the devolution of the cooperative politics essential to maintain a stable civilization. Secondly, cooperation […]

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 […]

Who are you? (Part III)

Recent posts, Who are you? and Who are you? (Part II), examine the losses of emotional security and comfort caused when our civilized way of life replaced our ancestral one. Common sense, personal experience, and timely mid 20th century ethnographic research clarify this. See The Harmless People and The old way: a story of the […]

The Word Trap

We are innately attracted to promises of solutions to problems, not to examining the underlying problems. In the wild, that is the healthiest approach because problems there share wilderness simplicity, and the solutions are straightforward. Thus, it was natural for us to evolve the inclination to opt for the simplest view of most any problem, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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symptoms point of view