Thoughts

Thoughts can make us completely mad. Religious doctrines, fundamentalism, political views, racism, bigotry, complacency, superstition, us-and-them-ism, guilt, shame, narcissism, too low or too high self-esteem, fascism, liberalism, neo-liberalism, conservatism, neo-conservatism, communism—everything we live for is made of thoughts.

All religions and political ideas have led to disasters: gruesome wars, climate change, environmental pollution, the holocaust, slavery, witch hunts, the cultural revolution in China, the killing fields in Cambodia...

So, what are thoughts made of? Electricity and the release of transmitter substances in synapses? Words?

Are there right-wing and left-wing neurons? Are there optimistic and pessimistic neural pathways? Are there spiritual and evil neural pathways?

A nicotine addict who stops taking nicotine will get unbelievably negative thoughts. Why is that? Does the absence of nicotine influence thoughts in nicotine addicts?

Where do ordinary and healthy people get their stupid ideas from? Do they emerge from the brain stuff, or do they enter the brain from outside? Is the brain both a receiver and a transmitter of crap? Talk shows?

Where do new ideas come from? From out of nowhere?

And where do the genuinely friendly thoughts come from?

You can't stop the thoughts and ideas in your brain, but you can see them for what they are: thoughts. They are not necessarily the truth. You can question or ignore your stupid thoughts and convictions—if you want to. But it is hard, and it takes time. (It took the German nazis 20 years after the war to begin questioning their nazism. It took 1800 years for the Christian churches to realize that slavery was not a decent system.)

Does this idea of calling out one's own thinking change anything? Can it improve our dire situation? I don't think so. An individual can jump off the train at the next station if he has the money to sustain himself, but there is no hope for a fundamental change on the group level. It is too late for us. We missed getting off the train because we were lost in a book or a computer screen. Humankind will be gone within a few years. Our ecological habitat will be ruined in a nuclear war or because of climate change. We are heading for a catastrophic train wreck.

Who are you, really?

Some people pretend they believe in God; others pretend they are atheists. Some pretend they are honest and reliable; others play dumb.

However, not all people are pretenders. Some people are honest, reliable, and real, at least sometimes.

I sometimes believe there is a God somewhere; other times, I am an atheist. Sometimes, I am honest; other times, I am not.

There is no real me, no core self. I am a theatre company. And an audience.

There is more than one leading role in this play. There are also co-leads.

When you die, not only one leading actor will go to heaven or hell; not only one best actor or actress will be awarded. 

Eventually, the whole company will split and go looking for new jobs.

War

Our history is mainly about wars, bestial, idiotic wars. One king, emperor, or president against the other. Who won and who lost? And history didn't end when the Soviet Union collapsed, and the Cold War ended. The US wants to be in a position of unchallenged superiority and is trying to prevent Russia and China from growing too strong. They are fighting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, and then they have to take on Iran and China. The Jews fight the Palestinians, and the Palestinians fight the Jews. There are bloodbaths in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Yemen. In Africa, different tribes and warlords are fighting each other.

Mankind's defense spending now exceeds $2 trillion annually. But this is not enough; now, extensive military rearmament has the highest priority. The whole world is gearing up. We must defend ourselves against each other. The fight against climate change must be downgraded.

Many of us no longer believe in a future for humanity. Some pretend that they are optimistic and that they care about future generations. They want to appear responsible and well-informed, but privately, they understand there is no hope. Others prefer to be blissfully unaware. Well, some genuinely believe that politicians and engineers will somehow find a way to help us.

It doesn't matter which country you live in and which party you vote for (if you live in a country where there are elections); all parties want to continue the wars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnS_e0n476Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HhVX13JYNc

As if

Free will may be an illusion; everything is determined by something else. But we must live as if we can make our own decisions and be responsible for our actions.

Maybe life has no particular meaning; it is just what it is. There may be no reason for suffering and pain. But meaninglessness can make you drown. We have to live as if life and suffering may have a meaning. This idea can help you keep your nose above the surface.

Maybe you don't have an eternal soul. Maybe God is just a fantasy figure. There may be no spiritual laws stipulating how we shall live. But you can live as if you have a soul, that there are spiritual laws that you must follow, and that there are angels that can help you. 

There is no meaning in life and suffering, no God, and no spiritual laws; the world is nothing but electrons, quarks, and indifferent forces. This is an absolutely useless philosophy. Modern natural science is harmful to mental health. Its "truths" are poisons. It deduces the meaning of life from what scientists can see in laboratories, observatories, and mathematical calculations. They live as if there is no meaning to life or spiritual laws. They are nihilists.

We don't care about up quarks and electron spin in our everyday lives or how big and old the universe is. Such "truths" are utterly irrelevant in our daily lives. Life is what is going on here on an everyday level. Free will, love, conscience, and spiritual laws are essential here. 

Of course, religious dogmas, doctrines, and New Age superstition are also poisonous. They also belong to the theoretical dimension of life. The theoretical dimension is not harmful per se, but if it takes over your life, you will find yourself in a cage. We are not living in a theoretical world.

Agnosticism

Modern scientists have no idea how the universe came about.

They don't know what the fundamental particles of matter consist of.

They don't know what matter really is.

They don't know what dark matter consists of.

They can't explain how rocks and water could turn into living beings.

They don't know if life exists on other planets.

They can't explain what consciousness is.

We don't know where we are coming from and why we are here.

We're lost.

We don't know who we are.

We don't know if evil and selfishness will be punished in the afterlife.

We don't know if suffering and pain may have a purpose.

Religious and spiritual teachers know it all, but they don't agree with each other.

How can this be? They can't all be right. 

Where are their adamant convictions coming from?

Anonymous

The vast majority of people

will never become famous 

never be recognized for anything

or even remembered

after their unremarkable demise.

We have no unique talents. 

We don't write books

we can't play any instrument 

and we can't carry a tune.

No one reads our blogs. 

We are not even supernumeraries.

We were born somewhere, and we will die somewhere.

In between, we wander about

as if lost in a big foreign city,

not even remembering what we were looking for.

Was it the Hotell? Crap! I can't remember the name of it.

Or maybe it was the railway station?

Don't throw your pearls before swine

The Internet is brimful with people selling good advice: what to eat, how to feel, how to sharpen a lawn mower blade, how to spot a psychopath, what will happen to you after your death, the truth about 911, vaccines, Putin's secret plans... On and on, endlessly. Everything is there - for sale. Views generate ads and money.

Spirituality is also a business these days. Like everything else, it's for sale on the Internet. Selling spirituality on YouTube is like selling snake oil at a country fair. This is why I don't tell strangers about my spiritual life and experiences. I no longer give to the dogs what is holy. I don't want to be mixed up with hustlers.

Artists should also keep their sacred artwork to themselves and close friends. True art is not a business activity.

It is okay to publicly discuss how to grow potatoes, sharpen lawn mower blades, what you think about the current political situation, and how to paint sunsets. Stuff like that. True spirituality, on the other hand, is a private thing. It is esoteric. This part of yourself should be kept sacred and secret.