Postmodernism and relativism and reality

There are thousands of different religions, philosophies, and political ideologies worldwide and billions of homemade beliefs and worldviews. Scientists also speculate and assume. They can also make mountains out of molehills. They wouldn't have much to say if they were only to discuss what they had clear, irrefutable evidence for, much less write voluminous books. They don't know how the universe came to be, how life originated, whether life exists on other planets, what consciousness is, what electrons and quarks consist of, etcetera.

We don't know where we are coming from and why we are here. We make assumptions and create hypotheses, conduct experiments to find proof, pray and meditate, and become convinced that we finally have it right — but we don't. We later understand that we were wrong. So we try again. We can't live without phantasies, stories, assumptions, and beliefs. To be human is to live in a virtual reality. This is our habitat. It's not possible to live in "the real world." It's like fish who can't live out of water.

However, aren't some religions and ideologies worse than others? Is not nazism worse than socialism? Is Baptism not better than Wahabism? Is not the scientific standard model better than The Old Testament?

Who shall be the impartial supreme judge?

And what about hallucinations? People with schizophrenia, for example, can see things that don't exist in the real world. And deluded people believe in things that are crazy. 

And what about Fake news? Both social and mainstream media disseminate lies—and truths.

The idea that the truth is what is the truth for you is not the truth.

Reality is not what you think it is.

Contempt for politicians

I don't like Hamas, and I don't like Hizbollah. I don't like Netanyahu and his right-wing extremist government. I don't like al-Assad, and I don't Like Erdoğan. I don't like Zelensky, and I don't like Putin. I don't like Biden, Kamala Harris, Anthony Blinken, and Trump. I don't like their neo-liberal, neo-conservative, American exeptionalist agenda. I don't like Keir Starmer, and I don't like Macron. I don't like our right-wing government here in Sweden, and I don't like the opposition. I can't think of any politicians in any country that like.

There is no future for humanity with all these war-crazy meatheads at the helm.

Mental cover

You label yourself as something.

You are a Sunni or a Shia Muslim

a humanist or a Baptist.

You belong to a group or a clan

a tribe or a gang.

You have an identity.

You are Jewish or Greek, Arab or American.

Why is it so difficult, do you think?

to just be a human being?

You are a rightist, a leftist, or a liberal. 

You are an intellectual, an artist, or a plumber. 

You are black or white, sis or binary. 

You have to be something.

You have to have a mental cover.

Democracy

77 million Americans voted for Trump, 74 million voted for Harris, and 89 million eligible voters did not bother to vote. 

In the UK, 9.7 million voted for Keir Starmer, 6.8 million voted for Rishi Sunak, and 3,5 million voted for Ed Davey. 19.3 million did not vote.

In the second round of the last French presidential election, 18.8 million voted for Macron, and 13.3 million voted for Marine LePen. 13.6 million did not vote, and 2.2 million voted blankly.

Turnout in the last election to the European Parliament was 51%. 200 million eligible voters ignored it.

Many people think that party politics is important, especially in the mainstream media, but a large, heterogeneous group give a fuck about who becomes president or prime minister.

Moreover, many who voted for Kamela Harris didn't like her and her Biden policies but feared for four more years with Trump. The same thing happened in the UK and France. Many who voted for Macron detested him but saw Marine LePen in power as a catastrophe. Many of those who voted for Keir Starmer did so only to get rid of Rishi Sunak.

Many have to hold their noses when they vote.

Some voted for Trump and the Republicans only because they were sick and tired of the Democrats, their hypocrisy, their endless wars, and their neglect of working people. Some didn't know what they voted for and why. 

Less than one-third of the Americans are genuine Trump supporters. In the UK and France, the support of their leaders is even lower.

In a democracy, we are free to choose between two or three parties or political blocs with neo-liberal and/or neo-conservative agendas. All those parties are eager to go to war with Russia. 

WWIII

In the recent US presidential election, voters could choose between two warmongering candidates. Both Democrats and Republicans back the US proxy war in Ukraine and the Israeli slaughtering of civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. In the UK, voters could choose between three warmongers. Here in Sweden, we have eight. Almost all political parties in Western countries want war. We unite to defend ourselves against Russia. We have to down-prioritize the fight against climate change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bl6_MAhg_4&t=2643s

Thoughts

Thoughts can make us completely mad. Religious doctrines, political views, racism, bigotry, complacency, superstition, rationalizations, excuses, denial, us-and-them-ism, 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 major religions and political ideologies 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?

Are there optimistic and pessimistic neural pathways? Are there spiritual and evil neurochemicals?

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 idiotic 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 if he has the means to sustain himself in that nowhere land, but there is no hope for a fundamental change on the group level. It is too late for us. Our ecological habitat will sooner than later 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

Many scientists, including Robert Sapolski, claim that free will is an illusion. All of our decisions are determined by something else. But we must live as if we can make our own decisions and be responsible for our actions. Even hard-core determinists live as if they have free will and can choose to eat a hamburger instead of a pasta carbonara. 

Many scientists believe life has no meaning; it is just what it is. They believe that suffering and pain are meaningless. But meaninglessness can make you drown. However, you can choose to believe that 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. Maybe there are 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 who can help you. These ideas make life easier.

The idea that life is pointless, without spiritual laws, and that the world is nothing but electrons, quarks, and indifferent forces is an absolutely useless philosophy. Modern natural science is harmful to mental health. Its "truths" are poisons. It deduces what life is about from what scientists can see in laboratories and observatories and their mathematical calculations.

In everyday life, no one cares about quarks and electron spin or how big and old the universe is. Such "truths" are utterly irrelevant. Free will, love, conscience, and spiritual laws are essential. 

Of course, religious dogmas and doctrines 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 because 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.

True spirituality, like true art, is a private thing. It is esoteric. This part of yourself should be kept sacred and secret. 

Questions

Do you feel like God 

when you notice an ant on the kitchen table? 

Do you kill it with your index finger 

or do you large-heartedly let it run?

What part of you

will go to heaven or hell when you die?

Or if you happen to be a Hindu

what part of you would come back here?

How can the Cuckoo know that

he must set off to Africa in September?

No one has told him that winters are cold here

and how does he navigate to find his destination?

His step-parents didn't teach him anything about life.

Cats don't think and speculate.

Does this make them awakened beings?

Who cares? Old cats are first-rate meditation teachers.

What are illusions made of?

Action potentials? Transmitter substances?

Witchcraft?

What would the world look like

if no one was there to see it?

10-15% are social misfits.

Most of these misfits suffer from some

personality disorder, mental disorder

or substance abuse problems.

But some people don't want to fit into the society. 

They are defectors.

They belong to a small group

but they do exist.

Is it possible, do you think

to find an evolutionary explanation for

this peculiar behavior?

Is this

just a heap of words

and not a poem?

A pile of Brillo boxes can be a work of art

or just a pile of Brillo boxes.

How can it be that you always have it right?

And everyone else has it wrong?

What makes you think that you have a soul

or that you don't have a soul?

Did someone tell you?

What is that you made of?

Do fantasies, theories, and delusions also

belong to the material realm?

Do rainbows exist even if

no one is there who sees them?

Who are you?

Chimpanzees obey their leaders, and humans obey their bosses. When we go to war, we follow our commanders and commit whatever atrocities they tell us to.

The chimpanzee elite and the human elite have much in common; they are successful top performers.

Middle-class chimpanzees and middle-class humans also have a lot in common. They are anxious to be good enough and to be accepted by the higher-ups. They are bootlickers, and they despise those who are below them in rank.

Low-class chimps and low-class humans can go and fuck themselves.

We have much in common with chimpanzees, genetically, socially, and politically. 

Of course, we are more intelligent than they are; we can read, write, create art, and behave ourselves on a bus, but still, we have many basic similarities.

The best way to understand where we are coming from is to go to a zoo and observe a group of chimpanzees.  

However, at some point in the evolution, morals appeared. Then came spirituality, religions, philosophies, and eventually modern science. 

Moreover, breaking out of the social and biological prison and escaping the matrix is possible. How do you explain this? If we have the resources to sustain ourselves, we don't have to follow leaders, gurus, and bosses.

Intrapersonal communication

When you are talking to yourself, which self are you talking to? 

Are you teaching your jealous self the right way to look at things?

Are you telling your angry self to calm down?

Who is doing the talking? The true self? The clever self?

When you talk to God, which God are you talking to? 

There are many gods to choose from. 

Do you talk to your parents' God or a God of your own creation? 

Do you talk to Kali, Yahweh, or one of the modern Evangelical Gods? 

Or do you talk to one of his spirits or angels?

What answers do you get?

Thoughts

Thoughts and ideas are not particularly important—except those that affect your actions and decisions, thoughts that make you stay or make you go, or make you vote for Tweedledum or Tweedledee.

Some thoughts and ideas are critical; they can change your life. They may make you jump off the bandwagon or jump on another. The idea that thoughts must be silenced or ignored is wrong. Meditation and being in the present now do not necessarily lead to awakening.

Awakening

The moment you realize you have been fooled is an awakening of sorts. This form of awakening is not a pleasant experience. You feel like an idiot.

Deception has many faces. You can be deceived by your partner, parents, best friend, salespeople, mainstream and social media, politicians, gurus, and religious leaders. You can also be deceived by yourself and your ideas about who you are and how the world works.

Before awakening, you may feel great or depressed, wise or stupid, but after, you always feel like an idiot. ”How could I let myself be deceived like that?”

Relax; don't worry.

The world will spend more than $2,500 billion on arms in 2024. We must defend ourselves against each other; we cannot afford to invest in a green energy transition. The top priority is to accommodate defense production needs.

The US and its NATO allies are at war with Russia in Ukraine. After this war, they have to take on Iran and China. Israel is trying to get rid of the Palestinians, and in Africa, there are numerous tribal wars.

Humankind does not have a future; we're doomed: climate collapse or nuclear war armageddon. However, this insight is not helpful. If we want to spend the final years at peace with ourselves, it is much better to be optimistic and listen to fairy tales with a happy ending.

And if most people understood how dire the situation is and where we are heading, our economy would collapse right now. We wouldn't bother to work hard to save money for our pensions.

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/08/world-scientists-climate-failure-survey-global-temperature

Pluralism

There are around 4000 different religions in the world today, and there have been many, many more throughout history. There are also many different political ideologies. People with all these various religions and ideologies are at odds with each other, which results in wars and hostility.

There are also many different private belief systems. And all people are convinced that they have it right.

Some people are convinced that they are superior to you, and some are convinced that they are inferior. Some worship the golden calf, and some worship baloney.

Pluralism is the idea that everyone must be accepted in society regardless of their beliefs. However, we can only become close friends if our beliefs are similar. Then, we belong to the same tribe.

Romeo and Juliet came from two feuding families. Their love story did not end well. Love is not a force strong enough to win over bigotry. 

Who are you?

What part of you is going to heaven when you die, do you think? And, if you are a Hindu, what part of you is reincarnating? What part of you is coming back here? Do some of your memories survive? If so, how could that be?

Buddhists believe that the soul is an illusion. They think that it is only your actions that are somehow reincarnating.

Materialists and physicalists don't believe in reincarnation, and they don't think there is any heaven or hell. They believe that no part of you lives on after death.

How do you explain that people of different religious faiths interpret their Near Death Experience differently?

The mind

The kingdom of heaven is within you, not among you. It is located somewhere deep down in your unconscious mind.

The kingdom of hell is also in there somewhere.

What would the world look like if no one was there to see it? The real world, the thing-in-itself, consists of nothing to more than 99,9% – space between the atom's nucleus and the electrons.

The phenomenal world—the sun, the moon, and the stars—is created in our brains. So are the birds, the fish, you and me, everything.

My mind, your mind, and everybody else's minds are the same mind. The brain is where the mystery unfolds.

Within or without, inside or outside, are just words.

B: Where is your information coming from? Have you ever been to the kingdom of heaven? Are you speculating or fantasizing?

Upper-Class Religion

Hinduism is only for the higher castes, the Priests, the Nobilities, and the Merchants. The employed can go and fuck themselves. Christianity was originally for the poor, fishermen, and outcasts, but it became appropriated by the higher classes for some incomprehensible reason.

The Upanishads, Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta, Yoga, and the Bhagavad Gita are only for the upper classes. If you are a low-caste Indian or a Western working-class seeker of spiritual truths, you should look somewhere else. The idea that you can be more fortunate in your next life and become a priest or a warrior is silly.

BS

Lies, deception, and falsity are valuable and helpful tools. All people know this. We need them to survive. However, there comes a time for some people when they want to find out what life is all about. Lies and self-deception are the first obstacles if you are on such a quest. Furthermore, if you need to heal psychological issues or addiction, self-deception, lies, and bullshit are severe hindrances.

Fake spirituality, fake religion, and fake philosophy will only be helpful in the fake make-believe world. Kids love to play and fantasize, but there comes a time when they want to drive a real car, not just a toy.

Fake News and propaganda

I am a Christian, but I don't turn the other cheek. This idea is ridiculous. If someone hits me, I will hit back. I have guns at home, just in case. Do not mess with me. And I do save up money to be used here in this world. I am pretty rich, actually. I have a small mansion. Poor and homeless people have themselves to blame. God helps only those who already have something and are willing to work hard.

I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus died for our sins and that he could walk on water. He could perform miracles. I will vote for Joe Biden; he's the only adult in the room. He will save the world from communism. Putin is trying to take over Ukraine; his next step is to take over the rest of Europe, and then he will come after us. We have to protect ourselves. We have to defend the world.

There are so much fake news and propaganda coming from Russia. Be on your guard. Don't trust the information you find on the internet. Use reliable sources: The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN.

America first

Trump is not the problem; the problem is all those people who vote for him. Likewise, Hitler was not the problem; he was just another crackpot; the problem was all those Germans who voted for him.

Ordinary, decent people can be extremely dangerous. 

Why do we outside The US have to be concerned about who the Americans vote for? It's their business, isn't it? Unfortunately, it's not only they who have to suffer the consequences of who they vote for.

Or, maybe it doesn't matter who the US president is; the consequences for us will be the same: war. 

Stop voting! It legitimizes only one or another warmonger.

Assumptions

Do you live your life according to the belief that it doesn't matter how you live it because you will die anyway, and that's the end of the story? Do you believe that it doesn't matter if you have been a selfish jerk all your life or a war criminal? This is a belief among many others.

IFS

One part of me is selfish and a lazy good-for-nothing. Another part is an average working-class man trying the best he can to make both ends meet, not talking too much crap. He sits mainly at the wheel, and the good-for-nothing sits in the passenger seat, quietly waiting. Sometimes, he takes over the driver's seat and the driving. This sometimes gets us into trouble.

An old monk and a couple of distant relatives sit in the back seat.

Will we split up and go in different directions at the end of our journey?

Multiple Personality Disorder

What happened to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Did Dr. Jekyll end up in heaven and Mr. Hyde in hell?

Reality sucks.

You don't have to read much history to understand where we are coming from. Endless wars, torture, exploitation and abuse of other people, animals and nature, slavery, starvation, cancer, and death... No wonder we have invented beliefs to comfort us. There must be a reason for all this horrendous suffering and pain.

Richard Dawkins has shown that all religious beliefs are delusions. He wants us to face the facts.

However, people who are suffering don't care about facts. They don't want to hear that their suffering is meaningless. Religious beliefs are helpful. They can make us survive. The problem is when the beliefs are unhelpful and cause more harm than good. This happens when the lucky elites are appropriating them to be used for their evil purposes: God wants you to go to war, God wants you to be a slave, and you'll get pie in the sky when you die–if you do as you are told.

Superstitions can be helpful. To hell with reality, facts, and the truth.

Convictions

You are living in a fantasy world. All people are living in fantasy worlds, even scientists and down-to-earth realists.

We all have our religious beliefs, political opinions, worldviews, and cultural values. We can question other people's fantasies but not our own. 

It took decades for the Germans after 1945 to begin questioning their Nazism; many never did. Many communists refused to question their Stalinism. Many neoliberals cannot challenge their view that governments shouldn't interfere with what corporations are doing. Corporations must be free to buy and sell what they want. The slave owners in the American South refused to give up their right to keep slaves. It took 200 years for the Catholic Church to agree that Galileo was right. Some people are clinging to beliefs that were formed 2500 years ago. This list of examples can be made very long.

We don't want to question ourselves. It is too unpleasant. So, therefore we must continue to live in our fantasy worlds, fighting each other in idiotic wars and trying to convince each other that our fantasies are the best.

Can you question your own beliefs? Do you still insist that you are right and that I am wrong? Can't you see that we both may be wrong? Or maybe I'm right. Maybe New York is the capital of the US. Maybe there is a God, after all, hiding behind the trees.

Do you think waking up from your fantasy without adopting a new one is possible?

I don't think it is possible to completely clear out one's beliefs and convictions, but it is possible to question them. It is possible not to be totally convinced.

Eternal injustice

Imagine a man who has been an ashole all his life, selfish, nasty, greedy, exploiting other people, lying through his teeth, smiling, playing mild and caring, but crazy for money and power, etcetera.

Then, think of an upright man who has always been kind and helpful.

Do you think these two men will meet the same fate when they die, that both will be admitted to the wonderful spiritual realm, the kingdom of heaven?

All people who have had a near-death experience, at least all the people I have heard of on YouTube, talk about how wonderful it is there on the other side. Will it be fantastic for all people? What do you think? How do you fantasize about these things?

Integration

The brain is divided into two halves; they are like Yin and Yang. Both sides are essential — intuition and thinking, poetry and logic, imagery and explanations, art and scientific theories, being and doing.

It is not about this way or that way, my way or your way, spirit or flesh. It is about the way — which includes both Yin and Yang.

Who are you?

Sometimes I'm an atheist, sometimes I'm a theist. Sometimes I'm a deist; sometimes I'm an agnostic. Sometimes I am a jerk; sometimes I am an idealist. Who am I really? I ask myself. 

Thoughts are not of much help if you want to find your true self. If you want to learn about who you are, you must observe your actions. Did you stay, or did you go? Was your career more important to you than your best friend? Did you follow the instructions? Did you toe the line?

God

There are many ideas about God, who he is, how to contact him, and what he wants from us. Some people believe he is jealous and vengeful; others believe he is merciful and forgiving. Some believe God is a female, a great mother; in India, they believe in many Gods, male and female.

Some believe that he is nothing but a fantasy; others believe that the world itself is God or that he is, in reality, an extraterrestrial civilization. They have created us in their high-tech computers. But who created that civilization? Did they create themselves?

Some pretend that they believe in God, others pretend that they don't.

Endless wars have been fought over which God is the right God.

I don't know what to think. Maybe he is a sad and miserable loser. Perhaps he lost the battle against the evil forces.