Richard Dawkins Facepalms at Deepak Chopra

[godnotgod]

In my demented view of reality, it makes life much harder as now you see more of the puzzle and things aren't as simple as before..

The Earth is a ship on a troubled voyage in perfectly calm weather, effortlessly and silently gliding through the nothingness of space. If only we knew how to get with it (hint, hint), we all might enjoy the voyage.

.

That might be part of it but I think the real problem is that people take themselves too seriously and get frustrated when others don't understand.

All the more reason to learn the techniques of relaxation, such as meditation and yoga, pathways to the serenity of the mystical experience. It is the mystic who is enjoying the smooth Earth voyage, but everyone is so uptight over nothing and filled with scientific and religious crap that they refuse to believe in his simple message. Remember the song, 'The Fool on the Hill'? Well...


Fool on the Hill

Day after day alone on the hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still,
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool,
And he never gives an answer,
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

Well on his way his head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him,
Or the sound he appears to make,
And he never seems to notice,
But the fool on the hill . . .
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

Nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do.
And he never shows his feelings,
But the fool on the hill . .
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

The Beatles

 

[Deidre]

No one knows everything, at least not in terms of factual knowledge, but it is not about not knowing everything, but in simply not-knowing period. Not-knowing is the key to knowing, because it is the condition of an empty mind, one that is receptive to whatever comes, when the mind filled with knowledge and minutiae and preconceived notions about what reality is, is not, and that is precisely why the mystic has an understanding about the true nature of Reality while the scientist does not.

what a beautiful post. seriously, very insightful.

do you follow any particular path/faith?

 

[godnotgod]

what a beautiful post. seriously, very insightful.

do you follow any particular path/faith?

I find substance in all paths, but my primary focus is Zen.

Glad you found the content of my post of value.

 

[YmirGF]

I find substance in all paths, but my primary focus is Zen.

Glad you found the content of my post of value.

For someone who is so keen on this new found "not knowing" you certainly broadcast a sense of certainty that is hard to miss. You don't even entertain, for a second, that your beliefs are creating and supporting your experience, for example. I remember well when I wrote of embracing uncertainty and you pee'd all over the idea with great relish and glee.

 

[YmirGF]

Remember the song, 'The Fool on the Hill'? Well...

"OM"

The rain is on the roof
Hurry high butterfly
As clouds roll past my head
I know why the skys all cry
OM, OM, Heaven, OM

The Earth turns slowly round
Far away the distant sound
Is with us everyday
Can you hear what it say
OM, OM, Heaven, OM

The rain is on the roof
Hurry high butterfly
As clouds roll past my head
I know why the skys all cry
OM, OM, Heaven, OM

 

[godnotgod]

For someone who is so keen on this new found "not knowing" you certainly broadcast a sense of certainty that is hard to miss. You don't even entertain, for a second, that your beliefs are creating and supporting your experience...

There is only one Reality, but many beliefs and ideas about that Reality. Either you see the One Reality, or entertain a belief about it. For the mystic, there is only one way.

 

[godnotgod]

"OM"

The rain is on the roof
Hurry high butterfly
As clouds roll past my head
I know why the skys all cry
OM, OM, Heaven, OM

The Earth turns slowly round
Far away the distant sound
Is with us everyday
Can you hear what it say
OM, OM, Heaven, OM

The rain is on the roof
Hurry high butterfly
As clouds roll past my head
I know why the skys all cry
OM, OM, Heaven, OM

Yes, stay with that connection!

 

[YmirGF]

There is only one Reality, but many beliefs and ideas about that Reality. Either you see the One Reality, or entertain a belief about it. For the mystic, there is only one way.

So much for your assertions of not knowing.

 

[YmirGF]

Yes, stay with that connection!

Some of us have never left it, Godnotgod.
Tell me, have you ever felt and heard OM in your meditations?

It is a rather startling experience as it comes from within the silence and emptiness you are always raving about.

 

[Deidre]

I find substance in all paths, but my primary focus is Zen.

Glad you found the content of my post of value.

I explored Zen, and it's quite amazing. When you really 'get it.' Many people treat it like 'finding a happy place,' and that's it. It's the journey that is Zen, not the destination.
I might have to look for other posts of yours, you have an interesting view.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Well, DUH! If we took the time to understand the true nature of Reality, WHICH INCLUDES HUMAN NATURE, we would have a tool to transform greed and selfishness into altruism and generosity, while seeing beyond religious and scientific beliefs, as well as our own pet theories, such as the silly Theory of Interaction. Seeing beyond the self is precisely what the mystic is capable of doing. As for science and technology, unfortunately, it is married to the monied interests, such as Monsanto, for example, who is poisoning the earth, along with military interests, who are gung ho to blow it up. We are immature and don't know how to deal with our emotions and desires, let alone priorities, to the detriment of the rest of us. But when you know the score, via spiritual maturity, you know how to handle aggression, instead of via competition and nationalism. Science actually fosters nationalism and hatred of others. 'Our science can lick your science'. 'Our God can lick your God'. Same kind of thinking. Immature Big Apes with Big Toys.

No one understands the true nature of reality. Anyone who claims to do so is being played for a fool.

 

[godnotgod]

So much for your assertions of not knowing.

Not-knowing mind leads to the One Reality. Conceptual Mind leads to myriad opinions and ideas ABOUT the One Reality.

 

[godnotgod]

No one understands the true nature of reality. Anyone who claims to do so is being played for a fool.

So you do not understand the true nature of Reality. That can only mean you are deluded. So much for your pet 'Theory of Interaction', which tells us zilch.

 

[YmirGF]

No one understands the true nature of reality. Anyone who claims to do so is being played for a fool.

And all of that vitriol is coming from one who has no compassion, empathy or real understanding of human nature.

Not-knowing mind leads to the One Reality. Conceptual Mind leads to myriad opinions and ideas ABOUT the One Reality.

I understand how human animals could delude themselves into believing what you say is true, but doing so neither makes it truth or reality -- fortunately.

It is little wonder to me that someone who has put such a huge emotional investment into this perspective would experience their expectations.

 

[Runewolf1973]

So you do not understand the true nature of Reality. That can only mean you are deluded. So much for your pet 'Theory of Interaction', which tells us zilch.

No, I do not know the true nature of reality, nor does science claim to know it. The theory of interaction is my personal explanation for consciousness and life which happens to be well supported by evidence.

I honestly believe you are having delusions of grandeur. You should probably seek the help of a good psychiatrist.

http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/2008/delusion-of-grandeur/

 

[godnotgod]

Some of us have never left it, Godnotgod.
Tell me, have you ever felt and heard OM in your meditations?

It is a rather startling experience as it comes from within the silence and emptiness you are always raving about.

Yes, I chant 'Om, namah shivaya' all the time. Very healing.

No one has ever left it, but many think they have and need to be reconnected. We need to show them that they are always here, now, and that the rest is poppycock.

 

[godnotgod]

And all of that vitriol is coming from one who has no compassion, empathy or real understanding of human nature.

I understand how human animals could delude themselves into believing what you say is true, but doing so neither makes it truth or reality -- fortunately.

It is little wonder to me that someone who has put such a huge emotional investment into this perspective would experience their expectations.

How many realities do you think there are?

As a Buddhist, I have compassion for the suffering of the entire world, but that does not mean I am going to get teary-eyed over the delusions people are laboring under they call 'reality', and allow myself to wallow in their quagmire. I have to maintain a clear view through it all. Soyen Shaku, the first Zen teacher to come to America, said:

"My heart burns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes."

....and Trungpa Rinpoche once said,

“Renunciation is realizing that nostalgia for samsara is full of sh*t.”

'Dust' is a Buddhist metaphor for the suffering of the world, so Buddhists say:

"We have no attachment to dust"


Understand?

 

[godnotgod]

No, I do not know the true nature of reality, nor does science claim to know it. The theory of interaction is my personal explanation for consciousness and life which happens to be well supported by evidence.

What good is your silly theory or science if they provide all the facts, but which tells us absolutely nothing about the true nature of Reality? All you can come up with is a dead, mechanical universe, which your reductionist materialism has reduced to dust. If you don't understand the nature of Reality, nor your own human nature, what good is life for you? That should be the first priority, not a mechanistic view of the universe. You have the cart ahead of the horse. Get the goods first, then the rest will fall into place of its own accord. That is all I can tell you, and if you don't think what I am saying rings true, then good luck with your pet theory. I fail to see its value. What I am telling you, OTOH, is about the attainment of Absolute Joy, which cannot be surpassed as an experience. You want factual evidence to support Absolute Joy, but can't you see how silly that demand is? You seem to be a member of that infamous sterile gang of Evidence Nazis, continually demanding:

'Your papers, please!"

(...or else, heh, heh, heh...)

Well, my answer to you is:

 

[Runewolf1973]

What good is your silly theory or science if they provide all the facts, but which tells us absolutely nothing about the true nature of Reality? All you can come up with is a dead, mechanical universe, which your reductionist materialism has reduced to dust. If you don't understand the nature of Reality, nor your own human nature, what good is life for you? That should be the first priority, not a mechanistic view of the universe. You have the cart ahead of the horse. Get the goods first, then the rest will fall into place of its own accord. That is all I can tell you, and if you don't think what I am saying rings true, then good luck with your pet theory. I fail to see its value. What I am telling you, OTOH, is about the attainment of Absolute Joy, which cannot be surpassed as an experience. You want factual evidence to support Absolute Joy, but can't you see how silly that demand is? You seem to be a member of that infamous sterile gang of Evidence Nazis, continually demanding:

'Your papers, please!"

(...or else, heh, heh, heh...)

Well, my answer to you is:

Stop interacting.

 

[godnotgod]

Stop interacting.

There is no 'I' here that is doing anything of the sort. I'm just a total action of the universe.