I grew up believing that the "good guys" always win. First, we won the American Revolution, freeing ourselves from the tyranny of Great Britain. Next, the North beat the South in the Civil War ending the evils of slavery. The U.S. won WWI and WWII defeating Germany and Hitler, the epitome of "bad guys." Then the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the 1955 World Series and I knew for sure the world was a fair place. Everything seemed clear in those days. The movies always had happy endings and I believed that I would meet the girl of my dreams and find a job I loved that would make me rich.
I look at it a little differently now. I am not always sure: who are the good guys? When the stock market goes up does this mean that the good guys are winning? Are the democrats really the good guys, as my father totally believes? Does it really matter what party is in charge? When we outsource tens of thousands of jobs to India and China are the good guys the ones who want to keep the work here, at home; or are they the ambitious, efficient, and reliable workers who are capable of doing the work for less money? Are the good guys the ones who preach the Gospel of Jesus and the requirement to "Love our Neighbors?"; or are they the ones who warn us against the evils of superstitious belief systems?
Are the good guys the ones who want to do whatever it takes to keep America safe including torture and limit our rights to privacy, or are they the ones who protest against war even when our enemies are clearly evil and want to destroy us?
What about Global Warming? Are the good guys the ones who want to save our planet and protect our environment; or are they the ones who want to protect us from overreacting and overspending to unproven theories or speculation?
I am not sure we can divide the world into good guys and bad guys. I am not even sure that we can determine who is right or wrong on many of the issues facing our planet today. When you listen carefully, both sides usually make very powerful arguments supporting their point of view. We can't predict the future; if we are honest we must admit that we really don't know the right course of action in many cases.
I think the good guys today are the ones who are interested in doing two things: promoting personal freedom and eliminating pain and suffering.
I think the good guys are the one who are willing to keep their mind open to both sides of an issue, who approach a problem not with the goal of convincing others that they are right but whose primary motivation is to explore the question with objectivity and sincerity.
In some cases it is clear what is right, but in most cases it is not so clear. This does not mean that we should do nothing or not move forward unless we are sure what to do. What it does mean is that we must always be open to the possibility that we may not be right, that many things are not the way they seem to be, and sometimes we need to do the exact opposite of what we have done in the past. It is only through flexibility, willingness to change, and openness to admitting that we are wrong that we can navigate the complexities of today's challenging world.
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Atlas Shrugged and The Third Eye
One of the first books that impacted me was Atlas Shrugged. I was sixteen when I read it. The first book I remember that effected me was The Third Eye, by T. Lobsang Rampa. I was thirteen and read this on a train going to California. My parents had given me a choice of having a Bar Mitzvah party or a trip to California.
These books describe very different perspectives of reality. Atlas Shrugged is in the Aristotelian tradition of a=a, what you see is what you get. There is no reality other than what we experience and it is up to each of us to create our own world. Our first responsibility is to ourselves and it is only in meeting this responsibility that the world can prosper.
The Third Eye tells the story of an Englishmen who begins having dreams about Tibet and feels drawn to go there. When he does go there he remembers a life in which he grew up in Tibet, was trained in a monastery, and a hole was put into his head that enabled him to have psychic powers. He was taught that he must use these powers to help others. This book is in the mystical tradition, favored by Plato, that believes there is a reality beyond our senses. The path to freedom comes from our recognition of our insignificance and our willingness to submerge our selfish interests for the greater good.
What to do? What to do? How do you determine what to believe when both sides make so much sense and each point of view is backed by the thoughts of history's greatest minds? On one hand we are told that there is a virtue in selfishness and on the other that we must transform our desires to receive for ourselves alone into the desire to receive for the purpose of sharing.
After many years of contemplation of this philosophical dilemma I have come to see that both points of view are valid. We cannot help others unless we help ourselves. We must live in the world and respect the things of this world but also recognize that there is something more. We need to listen and observe with attention and go about our lives with a respect for both reason and magic. Truth is revealed in different ways at different times to those who don't already believe they know. When we can simultaneously accept opposite points of view as equally valid we are beginning to understand life in all its fullness and variety. There is no requirement to take a stand except against that which blocks our progress.
These books describe very different perspectives of reality. Atlas Shrugged is in the Aristotelian tradition of a=a, what you see is what you get. There is no reality other than what we experience and it is up to each of us to create our own world. Our first responsibility is to ourselves and it is only in meeting this responsibility that the world can prosper.
The Third Eye tells the story of an Englishmen who begins having dreams about Tibet and feels drawn to go there. When he does go there he remembers a life in which he grew up in Tibet, was trained in a monastery, and a hole was put into his head that enabled him to have psychic powers. He was taught that he must use these powers to help others. This book is in the mystical tradition, favored by Plato, that believes there is a reality beyond our senses. The path to freedom comes from our recognition of our insignificance and our willingness to submerge our selfish interests for the greater good.
What to do? What to do? How do you determine what to believe when both sides make so much sense and each point of view is backed by the thoughts of history's greatest minds? On one hand we are told that there is a virtue in selfishness and on the other that we must transform our desires to receive for ourselves alone into the desire to receive for the purpose of sharing.
After many years of contemplation of this philosophical dilemma I have come to see that both points of view are valid. We cannot help others unless we help ourselves. We must live in the world and respect the things of this world but also recognize that there is something more. We need to listen and observe with attention and go about our lives with a respect for both reason and magic. Truth is revealed in different ways at different times to those who don't already believe they know. When we can simultaneously accept opposite points of view as equally valid we are beginning to understand life in all its fullness and variety. There is no requirement to take a stand except against that which blocks our progress.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Creationism vs. Big Bang
If you believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny after the age of five you might be considered at best imaginative, at worse delusional. But fifty percent of Americans believe we were created in seven days by a super being and his son. Then there are those who don't believe in anything that can't be seen or proven by science. They tend to think that the earth was created from a microscopic ball of energy which exploded billions of years ago and through a process of random development based on the law of probabilities on nearly an infinite number of galaxies, stars, and planets and natural selection produced our world in all its complexity.
The truth is we don't know exactly how we got here. There is the possibility that there is a rational scientific evidence for our existence, or that there is some unseen, unexplainable, mystical or spiritual force behind what we perceive as our reality. My view is that both explanations are true but that our present state of consciousness and evolution is incapable of integrating both points of view.
What is important it seems to me is that we maintain a level of humility and admit that we don't know while at the same time working on developing our understanding and ability to see things more clearly. We must continue to remind ourselves to question everything we think may be true. At the same time we need to act in a way that supports life and growth so that we at least have a chance to penetrate the mystery of existence.. We also must do it in a light hearted way.
One of our big challenges now is our economy. There are so many opinions be given everywhere you look. The liberals want more government interference. The conservatives want to allow the problems to work themselves out. The optimists feel that the American spirit and culture will prevail. The pessimists project a doomsday scenario in which we will be jobless, homeless, and there will be rioting in the streets. The rationalists believe we are in a cyclical downturn and that like all downturns it will turn around. The mystics believe that it is the end days and the world will never be the same.
It seems to me that there is no clear understanding of what to do or of what will happen. It is obvious though that we got ourselves into this mess by acting without regard to the future, without regard to maintaining any balance. We borrowed too much. We spent too much. We allowed those without any conscience to make decisions for their own personal gain without questioning or monitoring their actions. All we can really do is work on ourselves and support those actions that seem to be motivated by courage, love, justice, compassion, and humility. I am rooting for Obama. I hope he at least is motivated by the right reasons.
The truth is we don't know exactly how we got here. There is the possibility that there is a rational scientific evidence for our existence, or that there is some unseen, unexplainable, mystical or spiritual force behind what we perceive as our reality. My view is that both explanations are true but that our present state of consciousness and evolution is incapable of integrating both points of view.
What is important it seems to me is that we maintain a level of humility and admit that we don't know while at the same time working on developing our understanding and ability to see things more clearly. We must continue to remind ourselves to question everything we think may be true. At the same time we need to act in a way that supports life and growth so that we at least have a chance to penetrate the mystery of existence.. We also must do it in a light hearted way.
One of our big challenges now is our economy. There are so many opinions be given everywhere you look. The liberals want more government interference. The conservatives want to allow the problems to work themselves out. The optimists feel that the American spirit and culture will prevail. The pessimists project a doomsday scenario in which we will be jobless, homeless, and there will be rioting in the streets. The rationalists believe we are in a cyclical downturn and that like all downturns it will turn around. The mystics believe that it is the end days and the world will never be the same.
It seems to me that there is no clear understanding of what to do or of what will happen. It is obvious though that we got ourselves into this mess by acting without regard to the future, without regard to maintaining any balance. We borrowed too much. We spent too much. We allowed those without any conscience to make decisions for their own personal gain without questioning or monitoring their actions. All we can really do is work on ourselves and support those actions that seem to be motivated by courage, love, justice, compassion, and humility. I am rooting for Obama. I hope he at least is motivated by the right reasons.
Monday, February 16, 2009
WTF is going on?
At some point in your life if you are a thoughtful person you probably ask yourself "what the f--- is going on around here?" What are the possibilities? There are basically two ways to look at it. First, life is totally random without any meaning or purpose beyond what we decide. Or there is some "intelligent design" or creative force that either set things in motion or continues to be involved on some level in our lives. Another way to view the ultimate question about meaning or purpose considers whether or not reality is limited to what we see and has a physical nature that can be measured, or there is a spiritual reality that exists independent of form.
Atheism vs religion, evolution vs. creation, logic vs. intuition, body vs. soul, science vs faith, Dodgers vs Yankees--these are all deeper issues that divide us, but make life interesting.
When we spend time pondering these issues with a commitment to not-fooling ourselves and only accepting what we personally can verify, we soon realize that our present intellectual capacity and ordinary logic cannot truly understand these mysteries. We can never answer the question: Who created god? We cannot know for sure whether there is a reality that we do not know or see. We can only speculate about these matters. Despite this, there is quite a bit of information and discussion, elaborate, well written or spoken theories about the nature of reality. People believe or pretend to believe they really know.
What I have come to learn is that our present level of consciousness and understanding does not enable us to see things clearly. We are limited in what we can know for sure because we have not fully cultivated our higher powers, those that can give us insight into these mysteries. And until, we know for sure we cannot even be positive that there is a higher way of seeing the world. It is our limited view of reality and the belief that we know more than we actually do that is the root cause of most of the world's problems.
The starting point for all progress is the recognition that we truly don't know.
It is in the exploration and in the living in the question that we have the possibility for growth. Humility and courage are key prerequisites for our survival. We need humility to admit our weaknesses, and courage to live in a state of not-knowing what to do. Too many of us have taken the easy way out; we've replaced the quest for truth with the comfort of a belief system. This is the enemy that we constantly struggle against. We do have allies and a tradition of warriors of truth whom we can learn from.
Atheism vs religion, evolution vs. creation, logic vs. intuition, body vs. soul, science vs faith, Dodgers vs Yankees--these are all deeper issues that divide us, but make life interesting.
When we spend time pondering these issues with a commitment to not-fooling ourselves and only accepting what we personally can verify, we soon realize that our present intellectual capacity and ordinary logic cannot truly understand these mysteries. We can never answer the question: Who created god? We cannot know for sure whether there is a reality that we do not know or see. We can only speculate about these matters. Despite this, there is quite a bit of information and discussion, elaborate, well written or spoken theories about the nature of reality. People believe or pretend to believe they really know.
What I have come to learn is that our present level of consciousness and understanding does not enable us to see things clearly. We are limited in what we can know for sure because we have not fully cultivated our higher powers, those that can give us insight into these mysteries. And until, we know for sure we cannot even be positive that there is a higher way of seeing the world. It is our limited view of reality and the belief that we know more than we actually do that is the root cause of most of the world's problems.
The starting point for all progress is the recognition that we truly don't know.
It is in the exploration and in the living in the question that we have the possibility for growth. Humility and courage are key prerequisites for our survival. We need humility to admit our weaknesses, and courage to live in a state of not-knowing what to do. Too many of us have taken the easy way out; we've replaced the quest for truth with the comfort of a belief system. This is the enemy that we constantly struggle against. We do have allies and a tradition of warriors of truth whom we can learn from.
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