MINDSET

I don't believe that gnomes, trolls, and ghosts exist, except in the fantasy world. I don't believe in gods, angels, demons, and witches.

Einstein said: "God does not play dice with the universe." By that, he didn't mean that there is a God somewhere who did not play dice. Einstein was not religious. He used the word God metaphorically. In the same way, we can use words like angels and demons metaphorically.

I don't believe that the earth is flat and I don't believe that the sun is revolving around it.

I believe that Jesus existed but I don't believe that he could walk on water and I don't believe that he rose from death.

I don't believe that extraterrestrials are visiting us.

For some reason, I believe that there is some kind of meaning or purpose with all the suffering in life. This is not a rational belief, but I nevertheless cling to it. How else could I keep on keeping on? The belief that all forms of suffering are meaningless is a horrible belief. 

I don't believe that I have a true self somewhere inside of me. I believe that I have changed over the years. I believe that the self, the observer, or the soul, is in flux. When beliefs change, also the observer change. Very stubborn and rigid people can also change. It is difficult to change but it is possible. Those who have had a near-death experience, for example, will often, what I understand, change their outlook on life completely. Fanatically religious people can become atheists, right-wingers can become left-wingers and left-wingers can become right-wingers. Alcoholics can stop drinking and leave their drinking buddies.

I don't believe that evolution has a direction. I don't believe that we are heading anywhere. We have no destination.

I believe that the end days are here now. I believe that climate change and environmental pollution will make the earth uninhabitable for human beings. 

I believe that change is possible, to some extent, for an individual human being, but as a species, we are doomed. In large groups, we become like a herd of bison or a troop of baboons.

I believe that synchronicities and telepathy are real phenomena and that they are not just products of a vivid imagination. I think of matter and energy as magic stuff.

I am aware that these beliefs of mine are just beliefs, mental constructions. I am not proud of them. I wish I had other, more optimistic beliefs.

INTERPRETATIONS AND THE INTERPRETED

 A dream is a dream, a fantastic night show. The interpretation of the dream is an interpretation. A work of art is a work of art. The review of the artwork is a review. For example, a strange experience, a synchronicity, for instance, is a strange experience. The explanation of the experience, what synchronicity really is, is an explanation. Is it an illusion, a natural abnormality, or a mystic message? 

The thinking part of the brain has all the answers. This know-it-all part of the brain can find clever explanations and interpretations for everything. Explanations, interpretations, criticism, and analysis make up a fantasy world of sorts. It can be airy-fairy, unicorns and rainbows, or sensible, dreary, high-brow, or low-brow. Dreams, art, mystical experiences, and life take place in another dimension.

HYPOCRITES

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them

         You cannot serve both God and money.

           Matthew 6

 

Censorship

Many different opinions and perspectives are banned in mainstream media. They only publish things that have been approved and considered appropriate. If you can't or don't want to dance to their music, you will have to make do with your blog or an online chat forum. Mainstream media is only for the chosen few, those who know how to behave themselves and do not disturb the order.

But it is not just racists, anti-vaxxers, and conspiracy theorists who are being censored. Many others are also denied admission by the unwavering doormen. Maybe it's just as good, what do we have in there to do?

Anyway, here are two examples of opinions and perspectives that cannot be discussed in mainstream media.

1.

We are quite a few now, who no longer believe that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced. We are not able to do what we have to do to stop climate change. It is already causing serious problems in many parts of the world, but there is no indication that we intend to change our way of living. Both rich and poor crave more and more stuff. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, despite all the alarm reports and climate conferences.

Do an experiment, ask your friends and acquaintances if they sincerely believe that we will be able to keep the earth's average temperature rise under two degrees, ask if they feel hopeful about the future. You will then discover that it's not only doomsday preppers, nihilists, and depressed neurotics who have lost faith in the future.

The idea that our global civilization and all of humanity will perish is not far-fetched or morbidly pessimistic. All previous civilizations have perished. There are only ruins left of them. And 99% of all species that have existed here on earth no longer exist. Evolution works like this. There will be other species taking over after us, flies perhaps or cockroaches.

Mainstream media promotes mainstream views, endless discussions, and proposals about what we have to do in order to solve the climate change problem, how we can implement the Paris Agreement, what can replace oil and carbon. The environmentalists demand more radical measures. None of them can see that we will disappear, that our days are numbered.

2.

Religions cause an enormous amount of misery in the world, yet it is unthinkable to criticize them, we are instead expected to respect them. Terrorism, jihadism, and destructive sectarianism can be criticized, but not the religions themselves.  

However, the social systems in Saudi Arabia and Iran are appalling, and they are based on conventional and generally accepted Islam.

Sunni and Shia Muslims hate each other. They disagree on which faith is the right one and they kill each other in the most bestial ways, like Catholics and protestants used to do. 

In Yemen, Saudi Arabia supports the Sunni Muslims and Iran supports the Shiite Huthi rebels. In addition, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iran have for many years provided extensive support to various Muslim extremists and jihadists around the world.

About 25% of the Americans describe themselves as evangelicals. In 2000, they voted for George W. Bush. In 2003 God ordered him to invade Iraq. In 2016, Donald Trump came to power thanks to these evangelicals. In Brazil, they voted for Bolsonaro.

No sensible person can call himself a communist today after all the horrors that have taken place in the name of communism, but how is it that Christians still can call themselves Christians without being ashamed? Christianity also has a horrible history: the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the witch hunts, the oppression of women and children, the steadfast support to war-mad emperors, kings, and presidents.

During the Enlightenment, slavery and the slave trade began to be questioned. Many Christians were also affected by the new ideas. A new Christian ethic slowly emerged. What is right or wrong is not carved in stone.

But it takes time to change established ideas. When the London parliament voted to abolish slavery in the British colonies, the bishops in the upper house voted against the proposal. In 2006, the Church of England apologized for the fact that their priests had owned slave plantations in the Caribbean.

Religious identity has always been important to people, but it is nevertheless possible to abandon it. There are many examples of people who have left their religious cult or congregation without joining another one. It is also possible to leave a political party, a criminal gang, or a bunch of drinking buddies. It is possible to jump off the bandwagon. It is possible to simply be a human being, without any religious or political affiliation.

https://www.badnewsaboutchristianity.com/gaa_slavery.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/09/religion.world

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.

Matthew 4

The devil could promise Jesus all the kingdoms of the world because they were his property.

REVERSE ALCHEMY

A painting consists of a large number of molecules. But you can not send it to a chemical laboratory and expect to get it fully analyzed. The chemists will miss important aspects of it. It is the same thing with you; you are something different from the chemicals you are made of.

You are also an animal, subject to biological laws. But you are not just a kind of crazy ape and you are not controlled solely by your genes and your upbringing. The discoveries by Darwin and later biologists can only partially explain what makes you tick.

Concepts such as spirituality, conscience, and evil are irrelevant in particle physics in the same way that quarks and electrons have nothing much to do with you.

Biologists look at the world through a biological filter and everything they see gets biological explanations. Physicists have physical filters and psychologists have their psychological middle-class filters. They are all like religious fundamentalists, they see only what they want to see.

Well, we are all, more or less, like religious fundamentalists, aren't we? We see what we want to see, and hear want we want to hear.




If you have a degree in biology, you can explain how biological evolution works, but you have no idea of how it got started. How did life begin here on earth? Religious people can not present any evidence for their grand fantasies, but neither can you.




The eyes are just small action cameras, nerves are just electric cords, the brain is just a computer and the heart is just a regular pump. The universe is just a universe. Modern science has taught us the art of turning gold into lead.

Slavery

During the Enlightenment, slavery and the slave trade began to be questioned. Many Christians were also influenced by the new ideas. A new Christian ethic slowly emerged. What is right and wrong is not carved in stone.

But it takes time to change established beliefs. In 1833, when the London Parliament voted to abolish slavery in the British colonies, the Bench of Bishops voted against the proposal.

In 2006, the Church of England apologized for the fact that their priests had been owners of slave plantations in the Caribbean.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/09/religion.world

http://www.badnewsaboutchristianity.com/gaa_slavery.htm

Cristianity

From what I understand was Jesus not just a creation of the authors of the New Testament. There was also a man of flesh and blood who was the origin of the legends. He was a Jewish preacher who was convinced that God would crush the evil forces and that the cosmic fight had already begun.

But the forces of darkness became annoyed at him and sentenced him to death. Not only that, then they appropriated Christianity, changed it to suit their purposes, and made it their religion. Ever since then have war-mad emperors, kings and presidents called themselves Christians. The dark forces are extremely cunning.

No sensible folks can call themselves communists today, after all the horrors that have taken place in the name of communism, but how come Christians still can call themselves Christians without being ashamed? Christianity has also a terrible history: the Crusades, the Inquisition Courts, the Witch hunts, the support to the worldly powers and their endless wars, the oppression of women and children... Every Sunday the slave drivers in the American South went to church and sang hymns: "Si-i-lent night, Ho-o-ly night." 

Change

You do not have to read much history to understand where we are coming from, thousands of years of horrific wars, slavery, exploitation, and delusions. We have stuck the eyes out of each other, cut off the tongues from each other, cut each other open. The seas and the lakes are poisoned. We are warned not to eat fish from lakes. The air is polluted, the fruits contain pesticides.

What makes you think that we can stop the emissions of carbon dioxide? What makes you think that we will change our ways? What makes you think that we will wake up from our ideological and religious fantasy worlds?

The truth will not set you free

Why are lies, deceit and deception so prevalent?

Because they are helping us to get what we want. And they are useful tools if we need to get off the hook.

So, why do we despise these excellent tools?

Because we have to pretend that we don't use them, otherwise they wouldn't work.

We have evolved to survive. To be honest and playing fair will only cause problems for you.

The English variant "And You Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free" is carved in stone in the Original Headquarters Building of the Central Intelligence Agency.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_truth_will_set_you_free  

Warning to Rich Oppressors

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.   (James 5)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_of_James

Selfish Personality Disorder

Selfishness is also on a spectrum, like narcissism. Severe forms of selfishness ought to be included in the DSM-6. It could be called Selfish Personality Disorder, SPD.

All narcissists are selfish but all selfish assholes are not narcissistic.

Selfish people hide their selfishness behind an agreeable mask. They are also hiding their selfishness for themselves. They don't even know that they are selfish. Some of them even believe that they have always been too nice and kind.

They lie both to themselves and to others, they slander, talk bullshit, and believe that they are completely innocent. Feelings of anxiety, guilt, and shame will be the result. They don't understand why they have these feelings so they stuff themselves with antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and junk food. They try to hypnotize themselves with "positive thinking and self-affirmations". They are completely stuck in the mud of lies and self-deception.

Lost in translation

Genuine mystical experiences should not be transferred into written words, not even into spoken language - unless you are talking to a very close friend. You should not throw pearls before swine.

Climate apocalypse

 I do not believe that there is a future for humanity. We are quite a few now who have realized that greenhouse gas emissions will not be reduced. In Asia, they plan to build hundreds of new coal power plants, in the Amazon and Indonesia they cut down the rainforest to raise cattle and grow oil palms, both rich and poor, in all parts of the world, want nothing more than to be able to buy more stuff.

Britain will spend £ 16.5 billion in the coming years, in addition to the previous defense budget, to upgrade its nuclear weapons. Boris Johnson says safety must be a top priority. The United States will spend $ 348 billion to modernize its nuclear weapons. Russia and China are, of course, on the same track. There is no hope for humanity.

If we continue to live in the same way as we do now, the earth's average temperature in 2040 will be 2 ° C higher compared to pre-industrial times. With a two-degree increase in temperature, dramatic changes take place for life on earth. One problem is that the permafrost melts, methane is released and the temperature rises even without our participation.

Climate change is already causing serious problems in many parts of the world, but there is no indication that we intend to change our way of life. Emissions of greenhouse gases continue to increase, despite all alarm reports.

The question is not whether the downfall will come but when. Most people understand that we are in deep trouble, but no one dares to say publicly that our days are counted. The established media and the politicians do not want to deal with the idea that humanity will perish in a not too distant future. They emphasize that there is still hope. If we take sensible measures now, we can reverse the trend, they say.

It is easy to understand why they don't want to talk too much about our extinction. If too many people realize that there is no future for them, they will stop saving in pension funds. And large companies will no longer make long-term investments. If too many people lose faith in the future, then the house of cards collapses at once. Those in power must be very careful about how they express themselves.

Ordinary decent people also don't want to talk about the irreversible climate catastrophe in twenty years. They don't want their children and grandchildren to get anxious and depressed.

The idea that our global civilization and all of humanity will perish is not far-fetched or morbidly pessimistic. All previous civilizations have perished. There are only ruins left of them. And 99% of all species that have existed are extinct. The evolution work like this. There will be other species taking over after us, flies perhaps or cockroaches.

Are there any benefits to be able to see the elephant in the room? Maybe not. But here are anyway two suggestions if you dislike escapism and delusions: You can ignore the rat race when you understand that there is no point with it; You can devote the time that is left to what is important in life. And, you no longer need to set aside money each month for your pension fund.

Maybe there is, after all, still a chance for humanity. Suppose the financial markets and the entire world economy would collapse. Billions of people would lose their income and starve to death before the climate apocalypse is complete. Maybe then, at least some people would survive in remote areas. Maybe we will have another chance. Those who live will see.

The school of life

You can find tons of synchronicity stories on the internet. And tons of books about the phenomenon, tons of explanations.

I experienced incredible synchronicities with you. Were they lessons from the spiritual dimension? Were they messages from a part of our unconscious mind? Is there a spiritual center somewhere in the brain? Is it about brain chemistry? Were they simply coincidences?

We tried to wrap our heads around this for years. We tried to find explanations. Were we soul mates? Did we meet in a previous life? Did an angel guide our steps, like a puppeteer? People around us thought we were crazy.

Psychologists, philosophers, statisticians, priests, New Age gurus, and ordinary laymen produce all kinds of explanations. How come that they arrive at different conclusions? And how can they be so convinced that they are right?

Is life a kind of school or is this idea simply a way of looking at things? Is there a life curriculum? What happens if we fail an exam? What happens if we drop out of the school of life?

Émile Deschamps

French writer Émile Deschamps claims in his memoirs that, in 1805, he was treated to some plum pudding by a stranger named Monsieur de Fontgibu. Ten years later, the writer encountered plum pudding on the menu of a Paris restaurant and wanted to order some, but the waiter told him that the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turned out to be de Fontgibu. Many years later, in 1832, Deschamps was at a dinner and once again ordered plum pudding. He recalled the earlier incident and told his friends that only de Fontgibu was missing to make the setting complete—and in the same instant, the now-senile de Fontgibu entered the room, having got the wrong address.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity

The everyday consciousness

At this moment tons of radio waves flow throw you, signals that you cannot perceive: radio and TV broadcasts, telephone calls, and internet searches. The ether is also filled with telepathic messages that you cannot perceive because they are not directed at you. You may not even perceive them even if they are directed at you because you are insensitive and believe that such signals do not exist. These messages do not consist of radio waves.

Many people have experienced synchronicities and telepathic phenomena, many are fascinated by these peculiar signals, but what do they consist of? Why are they so ambiguous? What function do they fulfill? Why are they so difficult to interpret?

I think they are messages from another sphere, or from the collective subconscious mind. They want to remind you that there really are other dimensions. What is happening up here, at the surface level, in our everyday consciousness, is not the whole story. Life is much, much stranger than you think. It is not just about money, social status, and sex. And it is not just about reason and scientific explanations. The everyday consciousness is only a small part of a human being.

Narcissism

Donald Trump is a pathological narcissist, according to many reputable psychologists. Well, that's pretty obvious, isn't it? But what are all those hyperenthusiastic people at the Trump rallies suffering from? What is their problem?

What is the problem with all those people who are fanatical followers of cult leaders, evangelical pastors, and self-improvement gurus?

Why Are Some People Too Stuck to Grow?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPFORmlnv6k 

Nature, nurture and mystery

Y= G+E+Fw+X

Y=You    G= Genes     E= Environment      Fw= Free will       X=?

(Modern science teaches that we are who we are because of nature and nurture; genes and environment. It leaves out the X-factor because it is not possible to investigate with scientific methods. It leaves out serendipity, synchronicity, and mystery and can thus give you a complete scientific explanation of who you are.)

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/19/do-your-genes-determine-your-entire-life

Focus on what really matters

How did life begin here on earth? What happened before the Big Bang? Did God create the world? Such questions are not that important, they are at the most fun to contemplate after watching a science show on TV.

It's the same with synchronicities and other paranormal phenomena. Are such phenomena real or are they simply mental constructions, interpretations? Other questions are far more important, for example: Do I lie too much? Do I deceive myself? Am I living in a  fantasy world? Am I a selfish jerk? Am I ideologically or religiously possessed?

And there are even more important questions to consider, for example: Are there parts of me that are not too bad, that are not deluded and false, that are upright and friendly? Which parts are that? How come these parts have been neglected for so many years?

Subpersonalities

Some parts of you are OK. These parts have been suppressed, like the nice and friendly kid among their dominating and rowdy classmates.  

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sub-personalities-whos-ca_b_447845

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subpersonality

Proverbs

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Fake it till you make it

Fake news, fake wisdom, fake friendliness, fake optimism, fake sincerity, fake friends, fake love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe9B4LdZcDI 

Misconstruction

You have forgotten where we are coming from. We are all the result of exploding stars. Now we are here, forming hierarchies and complaining about the weather.

Harmful ideas

Beliefs and ideas can be as poisonous as heavy metals. Nazism poisoned german minds in the 1930ies; religious beliefs are poisoning fundamentalist Muslims in the middle east and evangelical Christian Trump supporters in the US. You can also be poisoned by personal beliefs. You can, for example, be deeply convinced that you are a loser, a slob, or a superior human being. We can become deeply convinced of many kinds of unhealthy stuff. 

So, how do you remove heavy metals and venomous ideas from your brain? Meditation, celery juice, and modern psychotherapy will obviously not cut it.

Insight

I'm quite stupid. I can't even explain how my cell phone works. I can't play any musical instrument, I can't sing, I can't draw. My writing ability is very limited. Without the spell check, I wouldn't be able to write anything intelligible at all in English, because English is not my native language.

My subconscious mind is unreliable. I am usually very unfocused and I often get bewitched by daydreams and negative thoughts. I would probably score high on a neuroticism test.

My life is OK, though. I get by. I shouldn't complain. The vast majority of people who have ever lived through the history of civilization have lived horrible lives. They have been slaves, serfs, cheap labor, cannon fodder in idiotic wars, always hungry, suffering from painful diseases. I really should be grateful.

10-15% of the general population today has some kind of personality disorder, 6% are clinically depressed, more than 50% are overburdened and stressed out.

I really ought to be happy.