Sunday, April 27, 2008

What is the true nature of human beings? Are we good or bad? Are we egoistic or altruistic? Maybe we don’t have a true nature. We can be good or bad or both, sometimes good, sometimes bad, depending on the circumstances. Maybe we don’t have a true self, a core, an essence.

There is the thinking mind and a background awareness that “hear” the thinking chatter, the inner voice. The right brain half is listening to the left half. I believe that when I die both the inner voice and the awareness of it will come to an end. Both the left and the right brain half dies. That is nirvana, a flame that goes out.

The brain is, among other things, an instrument that detects electromagnetic waves (light), sounds, smells. It detects emotional vibrations and vibrations from dreams, synchronicities, anticipations and hunches. Eckhart seems to believe that awareness is not generated in the brain, that it is some kind of cosmic background radiation that the brain detects. The brain is pretty amazing, yes, but when I die, I believe, all brain activity comes to an end. "My" awareness will live on in other human beings but not by itself, without human brain matter. And there is no “me” in there that will go anywhere or live on somewhere else. This is of course a belief. To believe that the ego will reincarnate or goes to heaven is also beliefs. There are so many different beliefs. Some beliefs are true beliefs, that are beliefs a person truly believe. Other beliefs are just talk. For example, many people pretend that they are Christians. They think it looks good to be a Christian. Also hard core scientists hold a lot of beliefs. A scientist can deny para-psychological explanations just because he doesn’t like para-psychological ideas. He doesn’t have any proof but he believes that the para psychological dimension doesn’t exist. We live in a dream word. We live in an world of beliefs.

3 comments:

:Doreen said...

There is a peace that "is" at the core. It cannot be defined by labels of "good" or "bad," "hot" or "cold", etc.; these are polarities. Mental constructs, definitions, constrictions, boundaries, constraints, limitations, chains, jail cells, rape, murder, death.

Do you "think" that I could read a few books and one day wake up to find that I have completely internalized what I have read in to some belief system that gives me peace. Well, even if that were the case, what difference would it make how I got there as long as that had become my state of awareness?

What purpose does it serve to not live in the fullness of life?

:Doreen said...

PS: Eckhart says he knows because it has arisen in him. It is not a belief about himself. It is up to you to believe him or not. He doesn't care what you think. If you have a similar experience to his then it changes from belief to knowing.

:Doreen said...

You can go down in history as the greatest authority on the fallacy of belief systems that ever lived but it won't bring you peace.