We have all been fooled

There are lots of different types of swindlers in this world: Romance scammers, snake oil salesmen, religious and spiritual fraudsters, banksters, investment hustlers...

Some people are narcissists or psychopaths, others are simply ordinary liars or crooks. You have to be wary.

Before you understand that you have been fooled is everything fine and dandy. Then, when you begin to get suspicious, you become worried and anxious. Maybe you will not get your money back. What the hell is this? This can't be true. Finally, when the penny drops, you become depressed. You lose all meaning with life and your trust in human beings.

Well, some people can't stand the pain of being an idiot so they hold on to their illusion; they come up with rationalizations and doggedly deny what is obvious to others. They are holding on to their penny. “Eventually I will get my money, it just takes a little more time and then I get rich.” or, “Someday he will divorce his wife and come back to me.” or, “Hitler tried to save the German race.” or, whatever it is they refuse to accept.

It is painful to wake up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CxcnB16Tyk

Diversity

There are many different kinds of Christianity, many different kinds of Islam, many different kinds of Hinduism. There are many different ideas about God: who he or she is, what he or she wants from you.

What if God doesn't have a gender? What if you are praying to a God that doesn't exist? What if you are praying to someone else's God? What if you are praying to the wrong God? Catholics and Protestants have been fighting gruesome wars over the years because of their different beliefs. Sunni and Shia Muslims are fighting gruesome wars today.

Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and atheists are also fighting each other because of their different ideas about God.

What if there is no God? What if there really is a God somewhere whom no one has discovered yet?

There are also many different kinds of philosophies, many different kinds of meditation, many different kinds of spirituality, many different kinds of liberalism, and many different kinds of socialism. There are many different kinds of ideas and beliefs in this world. Not even the scientists are in agreement.

How can you be so deeply convinced that your view is the right view among so many others?

What if you are completely wrong? What if you have misunderstood everything? What if you are desperately clinging to a misconception?

Questions

Are we all nuts in one way or another? What do you think?

Can some misconceptions be helpful and others create misery? Can a self-image, a worldview, a religion, or an ideology be beneficial? Is it possible to see things clearly without distorting lenses? Is it possible to free oneself from delusions?

Can you believe whatever you like as long as you don't create problems for yourself and other people?

Have you ever questioned your own beliefs?

Not on the same page.

You have to find someone who can teach you about life and how you should live it: a Guru, a spiritual teacher, a pastor, a mullah, a life coach, a philosopher, a rock star, a political leader...

Someone must show you the direction. If you don't know your destination, you need someone who can tell you where to go.

It's wonderful to know where to go and how to get there. It's wonderful to sit in an audience and listen to someone who knows the way. It's wonderful to have a leader.

If you listen to another guru he or she will probably point in another direction. There are gurus for all directions, full circle. There are even gurus who tell you to stay where you are. Some believe in the perennial philosophy, others don't; some believe in a true self that you can find, others don't. Some believe in God, others don't.

Belief systems

Gloomy thoughts, grumpy thoughts, nice thoughts, clever thoughts, stupid thoughts, wonderful thoughts...Thoughts are just thoughts. They come and go and they are seldom worth bothering about.

Your philosophy of life, on the other hand, is very important paying attention to. It can ruin your life. It can also ruin other people's life.

So, what is your philosophy of life really like? To find out you have to observe your actions, not your thoughts.

Some people claim that they Christian, but they do not turn the other cheek and they store up treasures on earth.

Others claim that all humans are equal, but they use an indifferent tone of voice when they talk to the plain-looking and uneducated and they talk ingratiatingly to those who are attractive and successful. 

Some advocate the benefits of positive thinking but they depend on antidepressant medications to survive.

What is your actual philosophy of life? What philosophy of life you are living according to?

What comes first? Pleasure? The importance of not being a nobody? To have an identity, a title? To be knowledgeable of something, meditation, sailing, literature?

What ideas do you refuse to give up? What do you refuse to see?

Do you believe that career climbing is important? Do you believe that the rich and strong are blessed? Do you despise yourself? Do you trust yourself? Are honesty, uprightness, and friendliness important to you?

Is it possible, do you think, to give up one's actual philosophy of life and start anew, to be born again, without adopting another belief system?

Do you believe that it is possible to live without a philosophy of life, or do you believe that it is a matter of replacing bad ideas with good ones?

Do you believe that the meaning of life must be created or discovered?

The end of the world

More and more people no longer believe in a future for the human race. We have given up all hope, but we avoid talking about it. This view is taboo.

People die, civilizations collapse and species become extinct. This is how life and evolution works. 99% of all species that have lived on earth have disappeared; all previous civilizations are wiped out. But it is very difficult to digest that life functions in this way. It is unpleasant to think about death, doom, and destruction.

How much time do we have left, 10 years, 30 years, 70 years? The scientists do not agree on when they think we will perish, but most of them agree that we will, if we don't drastically decrease the greenhouse gas emissions within the next few years. But the emissions are increasing. In Asia, they are planning to build tons of new coal power plants. They need cheap energy because the western world continues to locate its industrial production there.

Is it not unwise to think about death and the end of the world? Is it not better to be optimistic and hope that smart engineers will come up with clever solutions so that the world economy can continue to grow unhindered without destroying the climate and the environment?

Yes, it is better to be optimistic: Life becomes much easier. But there are also disadvantages to positive thinking and upbeat delusions. They have an existential cost: you can end up in a fool's paradise. And if you are young and save money in a pension fund, you give your hard-earned money to banksters to play with, but you will never get them back because you will never get a pension. All the banks will be gone when you reach pension age.

There will be no new climate policy here on earth. There are too many people, stinking rich, as well as poor, who are craving money like junkies who are craving a fix.

We who have understood that there is no future for humanity do not bury our heads in the sand. We try to seize the time, we have stopped fussing and fighting with friends and foes, we don't care about goal focusing and career. And strangely enough, we are not the ones who are frustrated and depressed. It is all of you who still think that we have to do something to save the climate who are suffering.

Awakening and selfishness

Think of a selfish middle-aged man. He has read in self-help books and heard on Youtube that happiness is important for health and wellbeing. So he attends a weekend retreat and learns how to meditate, to love himself, and to appreciate the present moment.

However, he doesn't find much happiness and harmony after his exercises. But he doesn't give up. He keeps on trying and trying. He reads more books and listens to gurus and enthusiastic motivational speakers. But nothing is changing in his life. He doesn't experience any happiness.

Some people tell him that he is a selfish asshole behind his smiles, but he thinks for himself that such people are negative and miserable. He is not able to see what a jerk he is and how he has injured so many people with his selfishness. And as long as he refuses to see this he will never heal, he will never have a chance to wake up, he will never experience genuine small scale happiness.

You have to make your way through the swamp to get to the meadows on the other side.