Free Will

Why I don't think we have choice.

Somehow everything in my life has already happened.  I only see it happening one step at a time, in some sort of sequence. I have a memory as a 90+ year old, looking at the city, and see it burn. And I have tears in my eyes, and I can still feel the sadness.  Except it hasn't happened yet.

And what is time really?

Why do some events feel so real as if it happened moments ago?  And then I seem to know things that haven't happened yet.  My dreams are filled with mixed up compilations of what once was, and clues of what is yet to be.

And what is the future really?

Have I already made all the decisions of my life, and now I'm merely living out the karma of past events?  Can I really alter what happens in the outside world?  Or am I just a participating bystander, just playing my role in the movie?

And what is law of attraction really?

Can I decide what I want for my future and allow that to come into my life? Or is it all already around me and it depends what I focus on, whether I see it or not. But it doesn't mean it isn't there.  Every evil turn, every bright light, it's all there.

And what if I only see what I want to see?

It seems the only choice we really have is the meaning we give things and events.  Life can seem so hard and full of despair, if you only see the darkness within us all.  The rejection, the denial, the self interest.

And what if we don't have choice?

Well, what of it?  You don't have a choice.  Life will happen, people will kill, animals will die, plants will be destroyed, and plans derailed.  Even by love ones.  Our greatest critics are not the enemy, they are the ones sitting right next to you at the family table.

And what if you don't show up?

Avoidance.  Sweet measure of time.  We are so preoccupied with our own entitlement and needs, and we don't think there's an alternative but to punish those against us. Life goes on without us, we are but a spec in the greater scheme of things, and I wonder how much I really matter?  My fears and feelings, just another perspective.

And what if there is another way?

What if the holidays don't have to be so sad?  What if we can look to a new future, every day, not just the end of the year, and believe that what we do does not really matter.  That who we are are not our things, our family, our friends, our pets, our habits, our interests, our passions.

And what if we are just spectators of what already is?

Maybe there is such a thing of evolving of the species.  I have seen a change in focus in my lifetime.  People talking about new things.  But it all depends on who you talk to.  So many now believe the environment to be the top problem to solve, yet so many still believe its a hoax.

And what if all of this isn't real?

Some sad experiment by the gods.  Or one big cosmic joke.  The really sad thing is, once we're done with war, with the killing, not just of the animals, forests, but also ourselves.  What then?  What would we do and how would we be?

What if we share everything and no one needs to steal, would greed end?
What if everyone is fed with what is good for them, would we still crave what's bad?
What if there's no more additive substances, would we be bored with life?
What if  there's no technology to connect us, will we go back to fighting each other?
What if there's no religion tearing us apart and creating imaginary lines between us, would we then start to love unconditionally?

And what if we are not capable of peace?

Is that why the world needs to end?  Is that why it will be destroyed in a ball of fire, and natural disasters?  Have we outlived our welcome on this planet? And are we just spectators of a predetermined destiny?  A brutal ending to a cruel humanity.

And what if it all starts again?

Are you a Slave?

Solving the world economical problems is a big task. But I cannot help to think that somewhere somehow, things could be different. How much are we willing to give up though, to be part of this change?

The following comments were inspired by the book "The Empty Raincoat" written by Charles Handy

• What if necessary things were free? Would there still be a difference between the rich and the poor?
• If education, housing and food were provided to all, and all had their basic needs fulfilled, will that reduce crime?
• If you could give your children the best education you can not based on what you afford, but based on your childs capacity to learn?
• If you could go to the hospital and get treatment when you are ill, without having to fill in continuous forms to make sure you can pay the bills before someone will save your life?
• If you could travel where you need to be without having to pay for transportation? Would you appreciate this, or does it seem more valuable if we pay for it?
• Would we be more equal if we all have the housing, even if it is just the basic? Will we spend our earnings on bigger and better places?

A couple of months ago, a friend made a comment the other day when I asked him how many children does he want: "I don't think I want to bring another child into this world, I mean, think about it.. we are all slaves". I did not understand his comment, so I asked him what he meant.

"They say we have a free market, but really we are slaves who are handed some money by our employers just to be forced to spend it on consumerism." I still did not understand his comment, aren't we 'free' to spend our money how we want to? I mean, yes we all pay taxes, but that is to pay for all the other things we just use for free (roads, community buildings, parks etc. all these things cost money). And yes, I don't mind that some of it is going to others who are less fortunate that I am to feed their children.

After some more discussion, I am still not sure what got him to this conclusion that we are slaves in a market economy, but I do understand his frustration of constantly have to turn a blind eye to all the advertisements that invite you to live unhealthy (foods) and buy things you don't really need. But that does not make me a slave to it.

So, just in case I'm missing something, lets look at the definition of slavery as per my trusted friend, Wikipedia:

"Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property and are forced to work.[1] Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. In some historical situations it has been legal for owners to kill slaves.[2]"

Well, although it is better if you do work, I don't think we can say that people are forced to work. Life is certainly much easier if you do have a job, and you earn wages, but that does not make us the property of our governments. We are not held against our will, we are free to leave when ever we choose to work in another country, or for another 'master' if you will. We can certainly demand our compensation if we were treated unfairly by an employer, and our employers or our governments are certainly not in a position to kill us legally.

So rejoice friends, we are free! Okay, not everyone on earth is free, but certainly many people who complain about their situation, who feels trapped in their lives, believe they cannot do anything about it, feel like slaves. The question is then, who is your master? Who are you giving up your freedom for, and what do you get out of it? Because if you are a slave, it is by choice, not by design.

7 Deadly sins - (or abuses of energy)

1. Sloth is the deliberate under-use of vitality. Refusal to act, even when the necessary energy is available. Refusing to take responsibility for your own basic emotional housekeeping.

2. Gluttony is the intake of more fuel than necessary for the basic activities of life.

3. Avarice is the same in the form of money accumulated for its own sake rather than as a means to an end.

4. Pride, is an over-investment in a misplaced and fixed view of your own importance, rather than a more fluid notion of identity that can place yourself on the deriphecy of action.

5-7. Wrath, lust and envy are 3 forms of the misdirection of energy towards objects which won't help you resolve anything.

Taken from "Making the gods work for you" - more on this to follow

Philosophy: David Hume

“The language of truth is unadorned and always simple.” ~ Ammianus Marcellinus

In the light of yesterdays article (David Hume), one wonders what the meaning of 'truth' is. Is it the hard cold facts that we cannot change, or is it our perception of the truth that this quote is refering to.

I can believe this quote if it refers to the facts. Something just is, there is no reason, cause or interpretation of it. "The chair was standing in the middle of the room and I fell over it".

However, some people would want to believe that the truth is someone deliberitely sabotashed me in order for me to fall. However, this is mearly the interpretation of the truth (fact). The need to seek for a cause or a reason why something happened is human nature.

That is the way our minds function to protect us from future harm. We need to find patterns of events that happen so that we can understand why we got hurt (for example) and assossiate the pain with what ever we think caused our pain. The problem is, our interpretation of the truth gets it wrong sometimes.

We need someone to blame: Did someone deliberitely put it there, or was I not careful enough? Sometimes things just happen at random, and trying to blame someone is a waist of time. It is not so much about who put the chair in the middle of the room to increase the probability of me falling over it. It is more about me getting up after the fall, and moving the chair to a safer place to prevent someone else from getting hurt. Rather spend energy on avoiding the same problem from occurring again, that will serve others as well.

Philosophy: David Hume

A friend asked me last night about David Hume and his reasoning regarding ideas and perception. Here is my interpretation of what I believe David tried to tell us. A short summary of his philosophy would be as follows:

"Even though experience is our only source of knowledge, it can't tell us much about reality. As a result, most belief is based on habit, convention, and human nature."

It is based on the premise that we humans sometimes confuse perception with facts. Say for instance you meet me and you really like me as a person. We become friends and we realize we have a lot in common. But then one day, I tell you that I am gay. This is a fact, not a perception. I didn't choose to be, I just chose not to lie about it. You actually believe that gay people are perverse and evil and are only capable of doing bad things. This is not a fact, but a judgment based on your own beliefs which you formed based on any associations with gayness you made during your life from what you heard from others or experienced yourself (or lack of).

Because of this new information you received, there is an internal conflict between the fact that you believed I am a good person, but I am also gay which you believe is bad. Now you have to challenge your beliefs, and you will either change your mind about me and believe that I am actually bad and don't like me anymore, or you will change your belief about gay people and understand that being gay does not make you a bad person.

We use logic to prove ourselves right or wrong, but we only use the logic that will ultimately lead us in the direction of our own desire. In Rupert Sheldrake's book "Seven experiments that could change the world", he stated that "scientists attitude towards their experiments affect the results of their experiments". Hume is thus saying, that we cannot really know anything for sure, except facts. However, human nature sometimes believe perceptions as being fact, but it is mearly an opinion or interpretation of observing a fact.

I'm including a piece taken from Complete Idiot's guide to Philosophy for further reading.

- Anakin

DAVID HUME

Hume tried to look at human understanding in much the same way that physicists were looking at matter, motion, gravity, and other natural forces. Based on an analogy he noticed between physical and mental processes, he proposed a new way of thinking about how sense impressions come together to form ideas. Just as masses in space are attracted to each other by the force of gravity, so our impressions are attracted to one another. Hume's view of how the mind works is known as associationism.

Associationism

Sense impressions come together in our minds if they are similar to one another or if we experience them together. In other words, they come together in our minds through association. For example, we may associate dogs with fleas because we often experience them together. This association contributes to our ideas of what dogs and fleas are. Our entire idea of dogs is formed by all the associations our minds have made in perceiving dogs, including drooling, biting, and chasing squirrels.

Hume's Fork

Hume's fork represents the idea that facts do not exist in any necessary logical relationships, and relationships do not presuppose any particular facts. Hume used his 'fork' to criticize metaphysical notions including causality. Accidental facts and logical relations can't work together to tell us what reality is like for certain. All we can really do is make guesses. Hume said that we tend to believe that things have causes, but we have no way of knowing what things in particular cause other things.

Instead, we form beliefs about cause based on associations we have made. These associations do not tell us how things actually happen. Instead, they reflect the way our natural instincts, habits, and social conventions have formed our beliefs about the world. In other words, a lot of how we think depends on human nature, not on reason or empiricism. Hume relied on this idea of human nature to defend beliefs. They may not be exactly true, but we need them to think, so we shouldn't reject them.

Inner Virtue

Hume applied his scientific view of human nature not only to our beliefs about matters of fact, but to our moral judgments as well. He compared ideas of virtue and vice (good and bad behavior) to experiments Newton had done with the colors of light. Newton said that light doesn't really have color. Instead, light produces a sensation of color in our minds when we see it. Similarly, people's actions in and of themselves are neither good nor bad, but produce judgments of good and bad inside us.

Killing someone, for example, has no significance outside of the feelings of the people who are aware of the killing. It's just a fact. This fact, though, causes people to judge the killing as a bad thing. This tendency to judge things is part of human nature. It is in us rather than in the actual event that we respond to. In Hume's words, "Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them".

Making judgments about the way things ought to be, based on the way things are, is not a purely logical way of thinking. Logically, facts and judgments of facts have not necessary relationship. Judgments, in other words, are not "true" in the sense that facts can be true. However, people like to believe that their actions and judgments are based on logical reasons. When we think this way, says Hume, we are only fooling ourselves. Our actions and, to a large extent, our beliefs, are determined by desire rather than reason.

- Complete Idiot's guide to Philosophy.

Religion

The benefits of religion is that you constantly, and at least daily, remind yourself that there are things bigger than you: Things that existed for eons, things that will exist when you are no longer here. It is a reminder that nothing that bothers or worries you now can be so big that it will ultimately change the course of the universe. The major tragedy we believe we are facing is hardly a dent in what is going on in the greater scheme of things.

It is a reminder not to take yourself and your worries too seriously. You are here to experience life, in what ever shape or form or circumstances that may be. But at no time should you concern yourself that the obstacles you are facing are unique or significant to this life. It is merely a stepping-stone of what is to come next.

Every step you take, takes you closer to some things, and further away from others. But there are always flowers along the way that you can smell, touch and observe. But you can never own the flower. The moment you pick the flower to take with you on your path, the flower will die. It returns to dust and does no longer exist in the form that you admired so much. Its time has past too soon to be a flower.

You can look at the flower, experience it, linger a bit where it stands, and then when you are ready, you can move on with the path and found a bird, or a tree, or a bug: Each one waiting for you to observe, smell, experience it in its own right. One is not better than the other; one is not more beautiful than the next. Each one exists within its own beauty. Shining its life essence out into the world. When you can appreciate all that you see in its own right and form, you finally see that all is one, and one is all. One cannot exist without the other. We are a manifestation of each other.

This realization should be the only objective of religion.

Philosophy Basics

Extract:

There are five branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and aesthetics.

Metaphysics is a word coined almost accidentally. It is the title given to a book written by Aristotle after he had completed his 'Physics', and it was placed immediately afterward in the body of his writings. Whereas 'Physics' deals with the observable world and its laws, 'Metaphysics' is concerned with the principles, structures, and meanings that underlie all observable reality. It is the investigation, by means of pure speculation, of the nature of being of the cause, substance, and purpose of everything. Metaphysics asks: What are space and time? What is a thing and how does it differ from an idea? Are humans free to decide their fate? Is there a first cause, or God, that has made everything and put it in motion?
replaced by religion but
..., metaphysics has many defenders who still explore notions put forward by Plato and Aristotle.

Epistemology means "theory of knowledge." It is derived from the Greek episteme, meaning "knowledge," and logos, which has several meanings, including "theory." Whereas metaphysics is concerned with the underlying nature of reality, epistemology deals with the possibilities and limits of human knowledge. Basically it tries to arrive at a knowledge of knowledge itself. It is also a speculative branch of philosophy and tries to answer such questions as: Is the world as people perceive it the basic reality, or do people perceive only appearances (or phenomena) that conceal basic reality? What are the boundaries between reason and knowledge, on the one hand, and what some thinkers call the illusions deriving from metaphysics? What is the basis for knowledge? Is it observation, experience, intuition, or inspiration? Or is there some other basis?

Knowledge may be regarded as having two parts. There is, first of all, what one sees, hears, touches, tastes, and smells. Next there is the way these perceptions are organized by the mind to form ideas or concepts. The problem of epistemology is based on how philosophers have understood the relationship of the mind to the rest of reality.
Plato taught that the real world consisted of universal ideas. The world that people actually see is given form by these ideas and is thus less real because it is always changing, but the ideas are eternal and unchangeable. (See also Plato.)
Opponents of Plato have claimed that the ideas were nothing more than names people have attached to the objects they perceive. Names of individual objects and of classes of objects are merely ways of organizing perceptions into knowledge. Thus people see one animal they decide to call "cat." All similar animals are called "cats," and a whole category of animals is thereby named without any reference to eternal ideas or forms.

Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with human behavior, morality, and responsibilities of people to each other and to society. Because ethics plays such a large part in the way people live, it has always been a subject of great interest. Some thinkers have asserted that there are definite, knowable standards for human behavior. Others deny this and say that decisions should be based mostly on the situation in which one finds oneself. They are relativists they say ethical decisions are related to specific circumstances. (See also Ethics and Morality.) This branch of philosophy is very close to religion. A large part of the Bible, for instance, is made up of wisdom literature, which is chiefly practical philosophy with a religious foundation.

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty, the arts, and taste (or appreciation). The term is derived from the Greek word meaning "sense perception." The basic question for aesthetics is: How do humans judge what is beautiful? Is it a reasoned assessment, or is it merely an emotional preference?

Furthermore, do aesthetic judgments have any relationship to moral or scientific judgments? In conclusion then, aesthetics seeks to lay foundations for criticism in the arts, or it tries to show that such foundations are impossible.
Other approaches. Approaches to philosophy other than dividing it into five areas may be taken. It is possible to divide philosophy into two types: speculative and practical. Speculative is from the Latin verb meaning "to look at." Basically it means to ponder a subject and arrive at conclusions.

Metaphysics, epistemology, and aesthetics are speculative approaches to philosophy. Their conclusions can never be verified.

Logic is an attempt to guide thinking, and as such it is a tool of speculative philosophy. Ethics, however, is often called practical philosophy. It attempts to arrive at guidelines for behavior based on what is the best outcome for individuals or for society. It seeks to present a workable approach to conduct and mutual obligations. It also seeks to answer the questions, What is happiness? and What is a good life?

There is still another way to look at the work of philosophers. Some have been system builders. They have sought to analyze everything and fit all their ideas into one comprehensive way of understanding the world. They want answers to every question. Examples of such thinkers include Thomas Aquinas, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Karl Marx. They created essentially closed systems of thought.

Other philosophers have taken the opposite approach, analyzing every separate piece of evidence and trying to explain it on its own terms. This was the direction taken by Aristotle, David Hume, and Bertrand Russell, among others.

This is not my work, cannot take credit for it: Taken from somewhere!

Motivation or Manipulation?

Communication must be one of the many wonders of our world. It is amazing how we can understand one another. Or shall I say it is no wonder there are so many misunderstandings.

The experts say the words we speak are only 7% of how we communicate with one another. The rest is tone, body language, and intuition. Most part of it I believe is the vibration we give off to others. You cannot see the vibration, but it is the underlying energy that surrounds you. Think of it as energy waves that vibrate between us. This vibration is what cause our like or dislike in someone instantaneously.

Our logical brain then takes over and starts looking for reasons why we like or dislike someone. We look for small things that irritate us so we can have a logical explanation for not liking someone. However, we find ourselves being hippocrates when someone we like does exactly the same thing, but because we like them (based on feeling) you 'excuse' their behaviour or are blind to their shortcomings.

This is really a good thing, or else we will not like anyone at all! Face it; we all have reasons why someone might not like us. For example, some may say I am always friendly and polite, and it looks like I'm always (mostly) happy to see them. While others may say that I'm a fake and only pretend to be nice. The second group of people may feel this way if they have an underlying instinct telling them I cannot be trusted. This makes them suspicious of my motives.

Motivation.... manipulation. Good? Bad?

What is our motivation to communicate with one another? It is always to get what we want. Even those that believe they are not, they also communicate with others to get what they want. Some are just better at it than others. Some may even have so much skill in motivating others that they end up manipulate people to get what they want.

But is it not just words we selected ourselves to make us feel better if we say we motivate someone as opposed to say we manipulate someone? Manipulate means to influence someone. If you are telling a lie to influence someone in your favour, and withholding something, we would use the word manipulate to indicate we are using our power over another to get what we want. However, we are still not forcing someone, but are merely in the position to influence someone’s opinion or perception if they are not knowledgeable of the topic of discussion.

Motivate on the other hand means to inspire someone. To encourage them to act as if it was their idea. To stir someone into action in a specified direction. To make them believe in your cause, to move in the direction you want them to move.

Is this really so different than manipulation? Is the difference that ... with motivation... there is more trust? I don't think so, because even if you are manipulated into doing something, you still trust that you will be doing the right thing (if you don't know you are being manipulated).

The difference may be in the person doing the motivation / manipulation. If you lie to get your way you manipulate people. If you play open cards (educate someone until they are confident enough to make up their own mind) and you want the best for yourself and the other person, then one may say you are motivating them to do something.

So it all comes down to the agenda of the person in power. Is it hidden or open? But then again, even if someone in power is trying to manipulate you into doing something that might benefit the person doing the manipulation, but others may also gain from it, is it still manipulation?

Is this where humanity was born where one person may not use another for personal gain? Did human rights movement have any effect in reducing the power / control of one person over another?

Morals & Ethics

"You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. " ~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~

Our ability to live with one another in harmony was historically thought of as why we need morals and a code of ethics to live by. However, to identify what those morals should be and how ethical we really are is hard to determine. We make decisions emotionally, and try to confirm / validate / motivate them with logic. That is why we sometimes use illogical reasoning, just to fit into our appropriate need at the time. We can convince ourselves of anything, really.

Any situation can be forced to have some moral motivation. Let's take the old story of a woman who's husband is in prison. The prison ward tells the woman that he will release her husband if she sleeps with him (and stay awake). If she does it, does that make her immoral, because she would do it only to save her husband. Would it be immoral for her husband to be released if he is a criminal, or moral if he did not receive a fair trail? Does it make the prison ward unethical to blackmail the woman, or is he merely taking advantage of an opportunity?

If you would pass a railroad, and there is a running away train approaching, heading straight for a crowed of 100 people, and there is a siding railroad where one person is standing, and you were standing at the railway switch, would you let the train continue on its way, killing the 100 people, or would you let it change to the siding to kill one person in order to save the 100? And what if that one person is the one you love?

In these situations there is no right or wrong, there is not just one option, and there is no holy pathway. The dilemma is that we have free choice, we can choose to interfere with life, even if it will hurt someone. But it feels better to say that we've saved someone in the process.

All we can really do, is to be true to ourselves. But that implies that we know who we are.

- "Do you think anyone really knows who they are? "

It's like looking through a kaleidoscope, and you have to pick the colors you like best, and therein lies your soul.

Judgement - nothing needs to be fixed

"Tolerance does not . . . do anything, embrace anyone, champion any issue. It wipes the notes off the score of life and replaces them with one long bar of rest. It does not attack error, it does not champion truth, it does not hate evil, it does not love good."

-- Walter Farrell

As I understand it, the spiritual journey is not about becoming perfect. It’s about acceptance, releasing judgment, and embracing everything in wholeness.

This is a great challenge for our personality. We’ve grown up comparing ourselves to others, always judging how we’re better and worse than those around us. And many of us are very good at finding fault with ourselves.

If we release judgment, then nothing needs to be fixed -- including you. Explore inviting your soul to help you accept all that is and experience a whole new way of living.

"Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are."

-- Julia Cameron

Dark Matter

So what does it matter that there is matter we cannot see? Haven't we always known that there are things going on around us, but are not visible to the naked eye?

Some animals can see infra-red... hmmmm. Imagine we can see the energy around us, we'll be so distracted it will be difficult for us to concentrate on the objects in front of us.

Then there is a new finding that a small percentage of children and young women has a distortion in the energy their organs give off, that cause objects in their facinity to float... I've heard of people that could do this as children, but prayed that this ability would be taken away as they consider it to be evil. The fear for this phenomena has caused the energy around the organs to change, which may cause it to dissipate. Friend of foe?

H T Clarke said that any unknown technology can be regarded as magic. Things we regard as common sense (or common science?) used to be a miracle in the olden days. Now we understand our environment a little better and can 'explain' these phenomena. Is it not time we consider moving objects without touching them not as magic (or evil) but as manipulation of the energy between us and the object that is merely undetectable by the human eye?

According to this site, only 4% of the universe is visible to the naked eye: 22% is dark matter and 74% is dark energy.

http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/dark_energy/de-what_is_dark_energy.php

There is little value in the things we can see. Only the physical world can be tested scientifically, but the problem is, the physical world is the result of the non-physical world. So we are testing results, and not the cause. It is the things that really matter (pun intended) that cannot be seen, like love, hope, faith, passion, excitement. These are all things we can relate to as being part of feelings. That means we can feel the energy, but we cannot see it.

And is the energy on earth different than the energy in space? What is it about our sun that makes us feel 'alive' for a lack of a better word. But again, it is not the sun that we can see that brings us joy, but the the sunlight itself.

But let us not regard sunlight as good and dark matter/energy as bad. It just is. Can dark energy just be a resource that has not been created into something yet? The raw materials of tomorrow?

Energy is a resource to be utilized, either for good or for bad... Like Uranium / Platinum can be either used to build power stations or nuclear bombs. Resource therefore has no consciousness of how it is utilized, but only respond to its prescribed application.

Meaning

Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something.

The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into the pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account.

John Gardner

Water

Water is given to the soul as compensation for taking on a bodily form.
In water our bodies find the freedom the soul has lost...
"Watsu" is the continuing exploration of that freedom

Pragmatic

I strongly believe
that no stimulus and no words can go by without affecting a
person -- I don't claim to know more or less about what is
true or not, but I do believe in being pragmatic and using
ones own judgment and critical thinking to set the
boundaries for our actions
- sneaker

Affect

We cannot help thinking to some extent,
however weak may be the thought-currents we generate.
We MUST affect those around us,
whether we WILL or NOT;
the only question we have to decide is whether we will do it BENEFICIALLY or mischievously,
feebly or STRONGLY,
driftingly or of set PURPOSE...
Here lies our choice, a choice momentous for ourselves and for the world:
CHOOSE WELL; FOR YOUR CHOICE IS BRIEF AND YET ENDLESS...

Attitude

ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!

Help us

"Help us to find God"
"No one can help you there."
"Why not?"
"For the same reason
no one can help the fish
to find the ocean."

Poison

The Healing Poison
A long time ago, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her
husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't
get along with her mother-in-law at all.
Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her
mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.
Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks.
Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made
the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li
had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish.
All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing the poor husband
great distress.
Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and
dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.
Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. she told
him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could
solve the problem once and for all.
Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, Li-Li, I will help you
solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you.
Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do." Mr.
Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a
package of herbs.
He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your
mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious.
Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up
poison in her body.
Every other day prepare some pork or chicken and put a little of these
herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when
she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don't
argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen."
Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her
plot of murdering her mother-in-law.
Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the
specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had
said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her
mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed,
the whole household had changed.
Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she
almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument in six months with her
mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.
The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li
like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the
best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now
treating each other like a real mother and daughter.
Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.
One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She
said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my
mother-in-law! She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own
mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her."
Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry
about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitimans to
improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward
her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."
MORAL: Friends, have you ever realized that how you treat others is
exactly how they will treat you? In China it is said:
The person who loves others will also be loved.
--author unknown.

Yin Yang

YIN AND YANG. The terms yin and yang originated in ancient Chinese philosophy during the 4th century BC. They were first mentioned in an appendix to the 'I Ching' (Classic of Changes), one of the five classic works of Confucianism (see Chinese Literature, "Confucian Classics"). Yin and yang mean literally the "dark side" and the "sunny side" of a hill. In Chinese and much other Far Eastern thought, they represent the opposites of which the world is composed: light and dark, male and female, heaven and Earth, birth and death, matter and spirit. This is called a system of dualism, or two-sidedness. The two forces yin and yang are believed to be complementary and contrasting principles. Each makes up for what the other lacks, and the wholeness of the world would be incomplete if there were a deficiency of either. Together the yin and yang are depicted as a circle, one half dark and the other half light. (This symbol appears on the flag of South Korea.) Within the dark half there is a small light circle, and within the light half there is a small dark one. This suggests that, though opposites, there is a necessary relationship between the two. Neither exists in and of itself alone. The yin and yang are both said to proceed from the Supreme Being, or Ultimate. Their significance through the centuries has been felt in every aspect of Chinese thought, including astrology, religion, medicine, art, and government.

Passion of the Mind

FREUD - The passion of the mind by Irwin Stone
Freud said - "in England, everything is allowed accept what is specificaly forbidden. In Germany, everything is forbidden, accept what is specificaly allowed." and his father replied. " In Vienna, everything that is forbidden, is allowed"

Martha's mother: "It is true, in Berlin, things are serious, but not hopeless. In Vienna, things are hopeless, but not serious. In Hamburg, we do not pretend to be gay when we are sad or troubled. We do not end each sentance with a fooling strolling, as they do, though they may be anouncing the death of their mother.
If we don't like a person, we do not treat them in the most intradiating manner, then stab a gossip knife thought the ribs of his reputation. I do not care to spend the rest of my life turning realities into appearances."
Prof Charcotte said: Theory is good, but it does not put a stop to facts"
The greatest satisfaction a man can have is by seeing something new. That is to recognise it as new, we must be see-ers, we must look and look and look, until ultamitely we see the truth. I am not ashamed to confess to you that today I can see things in patients I have overlooked for 30 years in my hospital wards. Why is it that doctors see what they are learned to see? That is the way to free medical science.
Fleiss: Hericlitus - Everything is flux. Everyday we must learn something new in our science, else we have not lived for 24 hours.
Life for me would be dull without speculation
The present dies, unless it multiplies for the future
Knowledge is a slow flowing river, sometimes it is laden with debris, sometimes it lays dry. Now for sigmund it became a tirant.
The adversery you find the hardest, are the one who is most confinced you are right.
Eaqualy as important as solving problems, is the formulation of problems. Don't wait for a problem to come to you. It may arrive at an inconvenient or dissagreeable time. Make the search yourself so that you are the agressor... Set your own terms.
We cannot do without people who think new thoughts before they can proof them.
The brain process cyclacly.
"You finish the fantacy by doing something about it, this is therapy."
science is a art of creating suttle illutions. We help our patients wipe out destructive nerousice and put in their place illutions with which they can live. Is it not life to paint the world with devine colours? - Carl Young
When freud look at the patients simptoms, he did not try to see what went wrong in a patients brain, but rather what went wrong in a patients life.
"No-one can avoid suffering. The best that we can do is to avoid blind suffering" - Carl Young
"For a very long time we worry about how to stay alive. Then we concern ourselves of how not to die. There is a suttle destinction."
REFLECT: Woman had more neourouses because they were more dominated in those days. nerouses has changed, the way people think have changed, women couldn't express themselves in the workplace, or sexually. They were either cleaning or nurcing. What has changed is that now it's open (homosexuality). now it is more curiosity that draw people to such relationships.
People are more aware of different options, are explore more than in the past. What do you want? You can change your mind about what you want. We all become male and female, as female become more stronger, and men become more emotional in touch with themselves.
Everyone of us have both sexes. The reason we look differently, is for multiplication.
Your sexuality does not define who you are, your soul does. It only means how you are going to relate to your environment. It is not who you are, it is not part of your soul. Your soul have no sex (or both). Men are more physical, an woman more intelectual. Both are nessessary. Men are more sensable, and woman more sensative.