thoughts
So, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Maybe it will eventually amount to a sort of life philosophy/belief, but for right now, they are all just separate thoughts floating around in my head. There will be alot of contradiction and self questioning in this. And I'm probably not going to proof-read it before posting....
The first, has to do with magic versus organized religion. Part of this, I am sure, has to do with reading Charles DeLint books. They always put me in a strange place in my head. Although I do not BELIEVE per se in magic, some how it still rings much truer than any version of organized religion. I do not think that there is any more "truth" in fairy tales and the like, than in any one's books on god. However, when it is dark and I am along, it is definately creatures from magic that people my thoughts. Not necessarily anything as firm as that, more just, that the feeling is more of "something" rather than perhaps a fear of intruders or a sense of evil. Likewise, I get feelings of things unseen much more than the presence of a "god" watching me if I am in a particularly serene place. I think that maybe that has more to do with what I have been raised around, and what I choose to read than anything else. Perhaps people who are religious feel the presence of their god at those times. If you aked me if I believe in fairies and witches and the like, I would probably say no, but at the same time, I don't entirely disbelieve them either. I feel like the dogma behind organized religion is much more comforting, seems righter somehow, but I believe it not at all. If there was a cosmic system of rewards and punishments, that would feel logical. People would either go to heaven or hell, or they are reincarnated to work out their past kinks. But not so much in my mind. Another part of this has to do with my belief that the earth, and humanity in general, is not unique. Although aliens have not been proven, there is something in me that cannot believe that of all of the planets extant in the universe, earth is the only one with life. Also, returning to religion, although I am not religious, it is hard for me to accept that 99% of all people who have ever lived in the entire length of human existence have been dellusional. There has never been a culture that has arisen EVER that was wholly aethiest. Religion is in the nature of humanity. This could simply be because of higher cognition, because the search for something higher is part of humanity, not necessarily the presence of a deity. Yet, all these things combine to make me feel that there is definately more out there than our senses could tell us, and that those things might be interpretted as magic or gods. Anyway that was jumbled but maybe there is some sense in it.
The second part of this is the proper organization of goals in people's lives. When I first entered college, I had decided through a lot of thought, that the three major goals in life were goodness, truth, and beauty. Imagine my disappointment when we read Plato and he said the exact same thing. I felt very unoriginal. Anyway, I have recently started to change my mind on this. Currently, I think that the only real value in life is beauty. Beauty of the rather small kind. Let me explain myself. Truth is an abstract concept. I don't think true truth has been or ever will be attainable. Therefore, it is important to be as truthful as you can, and seek truth whenever possible, but always with the knowledge that what you are seeking does not exist. Goodness is the same way. Because goodness related entirely to cause and effect, there is no way of practically using goodness. Once again, it is important to try to be good in your life, but it is not an attainable goal. There is no way of knowing if what you are doing is actually good, or if the things that people did actually came out a desire to do good, rather than were simply actions that resulted in a temporary good. Beauty on the other hand is different. There is no ultimate beauty either, but it matters less. Whereas peoples searches for truth and good, are dependent on their interactions with others, a search for beauty is not. And more often with beauty is it more of a recognition than a search. The worst thing that can happen with a thing of beauty is that others might not find it beautiful. But some how that seems much less more traumatic than if people do not agree that something is good or something is true. This is because goodness and truth are much more abstract. Part of me thinks that this is a sell-out system. I basically think beauty is the only one left because it is shallower. But that is only true if you don't appreciate beauty. The rose bushes in my backyward make me happy every single day. Only because they are beautiful. A piece of music can change your whole outlook for a time, purely because it is beautiful to you. This begins to break down to some extent when you talk about giant momuments of man-made beauty, like the pyramids. They do not exist simply, but because of slavery and kings who wished to shwo they were gods. Once again, not a completed idea, but something I am thinking about alot.
The final part of this really just occured to me last night. We were watching HGTV and What's My Sign Design came on. That made me start thinking about astrology in general. Now, my birthday is the 20th, but it was supposed to be November 21st. I think that is interesting because I am not very Leo, however, when my astrological chart is made, it fits me perfectly. Another odd coincidence, is that all over my chart is Scorpio, the sign I was supposed to be born under. Coincidence because that would be the same for all people born in this area of the world at that time on August 20th, 1982. Another funniness is that the person I have managed to actually create a life with is a Scorpio. But none of this is here or there. I just find it very interesting. Once again, if you asked if I believed in astrology I would probably say no, but it interests me greatly. And part of me thinks that if the butterfly affect is correct, can we say without doubt that the giant orbs circling around us, that all of the rest of existence outside our planet, has no effect on us. I don't know. ANYWAY the point to all of this is, that had Christianity and Astrology both formed at the same time and in the relatively modern world, there would be a very good reason for Christians to not like astrology. As it stands, they just don't like it because it a hold-over from earlier paganism. However, what astrology is actually saying is, that people do not truly exist until the moment that they are born. That the time in the womb is meaningless. That has great implications for abortion and the like. One thought believes that the soul exists from the moment of conception, and the other believes that it only develops at birth.
Anyway, I'm done rambling. If any of you read this, tell me what you think.
The first, has to do with magic versus organized religion. Part of this, I am sure, has to do with reading Charles DeLint books. They always put me in a strange place in my head. Although I do not BELIEVE per se in magic, some how it still rings much truer than any version of organized religion. I do not think that there is any more "truth" in fairy tales and the like, than in any one's books on god. However, when it is dark and I am along, it is definately creatures from magic that people my thoughts. Not necessarily anything as firm as that, more just, that the feeling is more of "something" rather than perhaps a fear of intruders or a sense of evil. Likewise, I get feelings of things unseen much more than the presence of a "god" watching me if I am in a particularly serene place. I think that maybe that has more to do with what I have been raised around, and what I choose to read than anything else. Perhaps people who are religious feel the presence of their god at those times. If you aked me if I believe in fairies and witches and the like, I would probably say no, but at the same time, I don't entirely disbelieve them either. I feel like the dogma behind organized religion is much more comforting, seems righter somehow, but I believe it not at all. If there was a cosmic system of rewards and punishments, that would feel logical. People would either go to heaven or hell, or they are reincarnated to work out their past kinks. But not so much in my mind. Another part of this has to do with my belief that the earth, and humanity in general, is not unique. Although aliens have not been proven, there is something in me that cannot believe that of all of the planets extant in the universe, earth is the only one with life. Also, returning to religion, although I am not religious, it is hard for me to accept that 99% of all people who have ever lived in the entire length of human existence have been dellusional. There has never been a culture that has arisen EVER that was wholly aethiest. Religion is in the nature of humanity. This could simply be because of higher cognition, because the search for something higher is part of humanity, not necessarily the presence of a deity. Yet, all these things combine to make me feel that there is definately more out there than our senses could tell us, and that those things might be interpretted as magic or gods. Anyway that was jumbled but maybe there is some sense in it.
The second part of this is the proper organization of goals in people's lives. When I first entered college, I had decided through a lot of thought, that the three major goals in life were goodness, truth, and beauty. Imagine my disappointment when we read Plato and he said the exact same thing. I felt very unoriginal. Anyway, I have recently started to change my mind on this. Currently, I think that the only real value in life is beauty. Beauty of the rather small kind. Let me explain myself. Truth is an abstract concept. I don't think true truth has been or ever will be attainable. Therefore, it is important to be as truthful as you can, and seek truth whenever possible, but always with the knowledge that what you are seeking does not exist. Goodness is the same way. Because goodness related entirely to cause and effect, there is no way of practically using goodness. Once again, it is important to try to be good in your life, but it is not an attainable goal. There is no way of knowing if what you are doing is actually good, or if the things that people did actually came out a desire to do good, rather than were simply actions that resulted in a temporary good. Beauty on the other hand is different. There is no ultimate beauty either, but it matters less. Whereas peoples searches for truth and good, are dependent on their interactions with others, a search for beauty is not. And more often with beauty is it more of a recognition than a search. The worst thing that can happen with a thing of beauty is that others might not find it beautiful. But some how that seems much less more traumatic than if people do not agree that something is good or something is true. This is because goodness and truth are much more abstract. Part of me thinks that this is a sell-out system. I basically think beauty is the only one left because it is shallower. But that is only true if you don't appreciate beauty. The rose bushes in my backyward make me happy every single day. Only because they are beautiful. A piece of music can change your whole outlook for a time, purely because it is beautiful to you. This begins to break down to some extent when you talk about giant momuments of man-made beauty, like the pyramids. They do not exist simply, but because of slavery and kings who wished to shwo they were gods. Once again, not a completed idea, but something I am thinking about alot.
The final part of this really just occured to me last night. We were watching HGTV and What's My Sign Design came on. That made me start thinking about astrology in general. Now, my birthday is the 20th, but it was supposed to be November 21st. I think that is interesting because I am not very Leo, however, when my astrological chart is made, it fits me perfectly. Another odd coincidence, is that all over my chart is Scorpio, the sign I was supposed to be born under. Coincidence because that would be the same for all people born in this area of the world at that time on August 20th, 1982. Another funniness is that the person I have managed to actually create a life with is a Scorpio. But none of this is here or there. I just find it very interesting. Once again, if you asked if I believed in astrology I would probably say no, but it interests me greatly. And part of me thinks that if the butterfly affect is correct, can we say without doubt that the giant orbs circling around us, that all of the rest of existence outside our planet, has no effect on us. I don't know. ANYWAY the point to all of this is, that had Christianity and Astrology both formed at the same time and in the relatively modern world, there would be a very good reason for Christians to not like astrology. As it stands, they just don't like it because it a hold-over from earlier paganism. However, what astrology is actually saying is, that people do not truly exist until the moment that they are born. That the time in the womb is meaningless. That has great implications for abortion and the like. One thought believes that the soul exists from the moment of conception, and the other believes that it only develops at birth.
Anyway, I'm done rambling. If any of you read this, tell me what you think.