Fuck around and find out

We have to live as if we have free will and that life has some meaning. Many scientists do not believe in free will or in the possibility that life and suffering may have meaning.

Of course, they may be right. You are born somewhere, and you will die somewhere, and that's it. If you are convinced that life is meaningless and that you do not have free will, these ideas will make you depressed and miserable.

However, if you are deeply convinced that life is important and meaningful, this conviction makes you feel stronger and more focused. 

If it turns out that when you die, nothing happens, that there is no afterlife, you will not be disappointed. You are not there to notice.

Disappointment

In early August 1914, Europeans were euphoric. They cheered, sang, and waved flags. At last, there would be war; at last, they would get to fight on The Field of Honor. At last, they would find meaning in their meaningless lives. It had been a long time waiting.

But the war was a disappointment. The field of honor turned out to be a run-of-the-mill farm field that reeked of corpses and feces.

In the spring of 1917, the Russians had had enough. Also, many French soldiers longed for home. By November 1918, even the Germans had grown tired of the party and left the festivities, disappointed.

                                                                      *                     

When the Germans went to the polls in November 1932, the Nazi Party won 33% of the vote and became the largest party in the Reichstag. In January 1933, a coalition government was formed, and Hitler was appointed Chancellor.

In early March 1933, elections were held again. The Nazi Party now won 43.9% of the vote. (The Communists were prevented from participating.) On March 23, Hitler introduced a bill in the Reichstag to transfer all power to him personally. The right-wing parties voted for the bill; liberals, Catholics, and Protestants did as well. Hitler became an absolute ruler, and millions of Germans were overjoyed. At last, they had regained faith in the future.

                                                                     *

What if you, too, have been deceived? Imagine if everything you believe in and live for is misconceptions or pure idiocy. People have always been deceived into one thing or another, only to realize later it was a misconception. Or pure idiocy.

Neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism, neo-darwinism, nihilism, postmodernism, this or that particular guru, pastor, priest, mullah, imam, or spiritual teacher. 

                                                                      *

It is important to be passionate about something, fired up. It doesn't matter what you are passionate about: your homeland, Jesus Christ, or the Prophet Mohammad, a free market economy, or art. An extinguished person feels tired and lonely. A passionate person, on the other hand, is full of life. It really sparkles in their eyes.  

                                                                      *

Words are not just words. Words are magic spells that can transform a person into pretty much anything. You can become right-wing or left-wing, religious or an atheist. You can become so unhappy that you want to kill yourself.

                                                                      *

If there is no afterlife, you will at least not be disappointed when you die.               But if there is an afterlife, chances are you will be very disappointed.

The Doomsday Clock

Humanity's defense spending now exceeds more than $2 trillion annually. But that's not enough; now it's comprehensive military rearmament that has the highest priority. The whole world is rearming. We need new nuclear weapons, new missile systems, new drones, and new submarines. We have to defend ourselves against each other. The struggle against climate change has been deprioritized.

We live in a very dangerous and crucial time. The Doomsday Clock is now at 89 seconds to midnight.

The magic of reality

You have two eyes. They scan these letters and convert them into electrical nerve impulses that quickly find their way into your brain, like a failed and petty New Year's cracker.

Maybe you don't have a brain. Perhaps it is a brain that has you. But what difference does it make to you in your life?

Anyway, you also have a nose, a mouth, ears, and feet. You have a heart that pumps blood and an abdominal cavity that is filled with disgusting entrails. Now you have come here, for some reason.

Reading is a mystical activity, but you don't find it mystical. Not the least. You are so used to reading. It's an everyday thing. But think about it, your brain converts these letters, in some incomprehensible way, to an inner voice that you can clearly hear inside your skull. Isn't this amazing? Is it really me speaking in your brain? If you listen very carefully, you can hear that this voice has a dialect and a tone that you recognize. This is your voice, yes, but it has now been temporarily taken over by me.

Self-knowledge

If you want to clarify for yourself your values, ideals, and worldview, what kind of God you believe in, or do not believe in, what type of person you are, then the best way is to pay attention to your actions and decisions. Your thoughts are not that interesting. Actions speak louder than words.

Examine your decisions, your choices of path in life. Did you stay or did you go? Did you choose money over love? Did you think that it is better to be safe than sorry? Was your career more important to you than friendship? Did you work too much? Did you choose to go that extra mile and to be on your toes, or did you resign to find a less demanding job that gave you more time with your friends and family? 

Are you a churchgoing Christian who stores up for yourself treasures on earth instead of in heaven? Are you a realist, after all? 

Are you a hypocrite? Are you a pretender? 

Examine your actions. Do you abhor modern factory farming, but don't want to pay for organic? Are you a miser? Do you prefer escape or to grasp the nettle?

Self-exploration may be beneficial, but I don't care. I don't care whether my values and beliefs align with my actions. And I will certainly not try to change them.

Agnosticism

Modern scientists can only explain a small fraction of what is going on in the world. The universe consists of 95% dark matter and dark energy. They don't know what that stuff is. They don't even know what ordinary matter is. What is an electron? What is a quark? They don't know?

They can't explain how electrochemical reactions in the brain can produce consciousness and thoughts. They can't explain how life emerged 4 billion years ago? They don't know what was before the Big Bang. They come up with lots of different hypotheses, but they can't show any evidence to support them.

Religious and spiritual people create their own stories, myths, and fairy tales, and different religions and spiritual teachers offer different explanations.

Why is it so hard to accept that we don't have a clue what life is all about, and why we are here. We don't know if there is a God somewhere. We don't know what will happen to us when we die. We don't know if it is important how we live our lives.

Atheists and theists are of the same wool. They think they know, but they don't.

The inner voice

If you are sitting on a bus, looking out the window, and letting your mind wander freely, you can discover how the everyday mind works.

Isn't it amazing how much BS is going on there inside your skull? Are you talking to yourself or are you talking to someone else? Who are you talking to? Are you talking to an enemy or a friend? Are you explaining yourself to an old lover? Are you talking to your dead parents? Are you talking to your stupid brother? Are you talking to God? How can that be? You are not religious, not at all.

Who is this God that you are talking to? What does he look like? Is he a jealous and vengeful God? Or is it a she? Is she a kind and loving God? Is she a wrathful God, like Kali? Are you asking for help?