Encephalon Posted January 22, 2010 COMMUNICATION Movement, objects, speech, and words : We communicate through gross symbols. We call them "objective," But we cannot escape our point of view. We cannot communicate directly from mind to mind, and so misinterpretation is a perennial problem. Motions, signs, talking, and the written word are all encumbered by miscommunication. A dozen eyewitnesses to the same event cannot agree on a single account. We may each see something different in cards set up by a circus magician. Therefore, we are forever imprisoned by our subjectivity. Followers of Tao assert that we know no absolute truth in the world, only varying degrees of ambiguity. Some call this poetry; some call this art. The fact remains that all communication is relative. Those who follow Tao are practical. They know that words are imperfect and therefore give them limited importance : The symbol is not the same as the reality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Encephalon Posted January 22, 2010 (edited) OMG!! This topic could not be any more timely for me. I drifted off to sleep last night, with a belly full of unusual supplements that create some rather vivid dream states, and I found myself on the new Mars colony. The only problem was that it was an exclusive community, populated with people who were more spiritually evolved than me. I was angry, baffled, and disappointed, especially when I found myself providing room service for all these folks who wouldn't give me the time of day. I can only infer from this dream that my own communication style in this forum has been wanting. I have tried to maintain a civil tone while attempting to obey the rules of critical thinking, particularly intellectual humility. I have had some measure of improvement, punctuated by very pronounced bouts of belligerence. I have said before that I think it is the anonymous nature of this forum that tempts us into saying things, writing things, that we would never say to each other's faces. I'm guilty of this as well, and I berate myself for it, because I'm old enough to be the father of a lot of you and should have learned to be more compassionate by now. I hope you guys will pardon my lack of charity. I've learned a great deal in here, and it's been a nice opportunity to hone the skills of writing on one's feet. But I should probably come in here less, and focus on what I really want, which is to move the Northwest and find some quiet piece of property in the country where my family and friends can practice the 3Ms- music, meditation, and martial arts. Maybe i'll see some of you up there. Regards, Scott Edited January 22, 2010 by Blasto Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Iyoiyo Posted January 22, 2010 Blasto, while it's true that the forum probably does result in some hasty things getting written I think that's for the best. If we go on without noticing tendencies then we can never fix them, right? I like the 365 Tao posts you're doing by the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
