The human intellect is MADE to understand the WHOLE cosmos! Think of how vast it is, how intricate at small scales, how grand at the large -- now imagine that power ALL being directed into your personal self only, your fears, social battles.
The narrowing of the field of thought creates a psychosis -- claustrophobia of sorts like an animal (or person) in a cage or cell. Left with (apparently) no option this is expressed as outward violence, or inward in the form of depression, just as a caged creature will lash out or resign themselves to a fate of captivity.
The difference between a belief and a notion is the difference between seeing and experiencing a movie, the sounds, characters, music, drama, tension, conflict and resolution and being told by someone else that: “Schindler’s list is about a guy who helps people in times of war by rescuing them from capture by their government.”
It is true, in the technical sense, that this statement captures accurately what the movie is about.
But does this statement transform you? Move you? Make you think in a new way? Make you think at all?
THIS is the difference. What this statement counts as then is a notion – a superficial account of a much deeper affair.
Returning to the matters of Cosmogenesis, Biogenesis, Consciousness, and Human History – to not have considered these things, prevents any chance we have of forming a coherent world view or personality. Again, knowing the ‘truth’ about such topics is not the key – the key is to generate personal meaning in the act of contemplation, which is an experience, which becomes meaning and identity.
What people Mean to Us
Think of the most profound and loving person in your life – all your experiences and words shared with them – now consider taking away all of your experiences, ALL memories you have with them, and in place of all your memories someone hands you a note which says:
‘You and so-and-so are good friends, and have had a lot of great adventures. The end’.
For all intents and purposes – this person would cease to exist to you. They are forgotten; remembered only by simple empty phrase. Lacking your first hand experience and memories, they would be like any other stranger – in fact, one might just as easily because of your amnesia write the same description about A COMPLETE STRANGER and you would never know the difference.
THIS is the ‘History channel’ version of reality when you choose to accept it. And it is frightening –not in the sense that we should emotionally adopt fear toward it, but in light of the consequences should we ignore it.
It is a rule of fiction writing to “show the audience” and not just tell them about the characters. Saying “John had a hot temper” does not achieve the same effect – or have the same meaning – as showing his character acting destructively with real consequences.
Saying ‘Life evolved’ doesn’t mean anything until you explore what that truly entails. And what life is in the first place.
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Criteria and Nature of BELIEF
Only those matters which have been thoroughly investigated by the mind, contemplated at length without personal bias or partiality, should even approach true-belief status.
It is tempting to conclude, then, that having no beliefs means to believe in nothing. This is not true.
Believe in Gravity, and SEEK to believe those things you have found, through the powers of Reason and Contemplation, to be worthy of belief status – i.e. True.
Entitlement
I had a friend who insisted a computer program is capable of doing what human (conscious) intelligent agents do.
I had given much thought to the matter, and explained to him in precise terms why I felt it was ultimately impossible to generate true ‘artificial’ intelligence.
Back and forth the discussion went. Eventually I noticed that his objections were not based upon any principle, rather they were merely anecdotal. After five or ten minutes of back and forth I had had enough.
At which point I asked him, "Have you programmed a computer before?"
Without hesitation, he responded:
“No, I haven't.“
This example taught me a valuable lesson. Many people ‘believe’ things without any basis whatsoever for their beliefs. Worse still, even if they acknowledge they know nothing about the basic elements of their beliefs, they still feel entitled to have an opinion on the matter!
We are all guilty of this at one time or another, the key is to recognize this foolishness and move beyond this place. It is to argue and defend solely for the sake of ego or ignorance. It’s ‘fighting for your right’ to believe stuff, just because you can.
No aspect of our life should be immune to contemplation – this includes our religious beliefs. Materialism is a religious belief, so is what we call ‘atheism’ (literally the absence of a theistic belief, but more commonly used to connote an affirmative denial of creative universal intelligence).
Regarding traditional (non-materialist religions) many feel it is blasphemy, or an act worthy of shame or guilt, even to consider or question the tenets or ideas of their religious doctrine.
Erroneously, these ideas or tenets are often called faith – such as, “I don’t question my faith”, or “faith is not meant to be questioned.”
Consider what faith is in the first place… the behavior and shaping of thoughts to reflect an ideal.
So, without contemplating the actual meaning of your religious beliefs, you cannot – logically – have faith. Faith is the contemplation because faith first and foremost requires our thoughts reflect the object it keeps alive in the form of a flame.
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Anatomy of a Belief
True and Justified Belief
A belief either is or isn't grounded in a single (or set of) principle(s). Stated otherwise, a belief is arbitrary or principled.
Arbitrary does not have degrees. A belief is (said to be*) held through selection with, or without a selection principle.
For the most part it is probably wiser to adopt those beliefs arrived a through application of reason, rooted in a unifying explanatory (formula or) account. The end.
If for reasons of my own, I choose (after having thought about the consequences) to embrace a wholly arbitrary belief, I am justified in doing so, evidently, for I have justified myself to do so.
Cosmic Clearance
On an average day is there anyone controlling you? I mean, physically there telling you what you can and cannot do?
No.
Law enforcement is almost never around to physically prevent you from doing something that is not inherently destructive. You are controlled in almost every conceivable circumstance by the mind only.
Your mind can only operate under a system that is affirmatively instilled into the mind. Right now this operating system is called ‘Systems of the World’.
You must INSTALL COSMIC OPERATING SYSTEM INTO THE MIND, to TRANSCEND THE SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD. You cannot do this until you learn about the cosmos.
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Cosmology, Consciousness, Human History
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