Fear and Loathing in Topeka

[Aaron]

So when I was younger, still idealistic and a bit of a wild child, I really adored Hunter S. Thompson. I thought he was a role model, someone that chose to live his life by his own rules, rather than have it dictated to him. Of course what I realized later on was that he was as fearful and delusional as nearly everyone else I've known.

 

We have within our grasp the capacity to live in harmony with everyone that surrounds us, yet we choose not to, not because of what we've been taught, but our unwillingness to give up what we've been taught.

 

Racism, bigotry, religion, and sexism, are all things we learn, they have no basis within reality. They are concepts that we've been taught and rely on in order to justify our fear and uncertainty regarding our existence and actions. Death is perhaps the most widely used tool to spread this propaganda and the reason the notion of heaven and karma is irrational and harmful.

 

We will all die and it's really not that scary. The fact of the matter is that we place too much emphasis on this life, that somehow it's sacred, but it really isn't. Life and death aren't sacred, they're a cycle that allows new life to come. If no one died, there would be no need for children, now that would be sad. We should appreciate life and death for what they are.

 

In regards to death, I believe, unequivocally, that I am the universe. To clarify, just as the bacteria in my stomach are me, I am the universe. My purpose is here, but if I pass the universe doesn't pass, but in the same way, the bacteria, the blood cells, the anti-bodies moving on their own accord in my body are me, even if they're not directly under my control. If one antibody dies, does that mean I am dead too? No, my consciousness exists still, just as when I pass the universe will continue to exist and the unfathomable consciousness of that universe will continue to exist. I am in fact going to survive for as long as this universe survives, maybe not in the form I'd like too, but I will still exist.

 

Everyone of us is here to learn a lesson. In order to learn that lesson we must give up everything we know and start from scratch. Like a small child seeing a butterfly for the first time, we must be able to appreciate the wonder of that butterfly for what it is and not what we can get out of it.

 

That's how religions manifest and how fear and loathing propagate, it's a desire to control the unknown, to rationalize it, to give us an answer, to control death. Well I'll let you in on a little fact, none of us have control and if you think you do have control, then you're crazier than I am.

 

Aaron

Edited October 7, 2012 by Aaron

[GrandmasterP]

Excellent post. Now how do you square this Aaron with the other one hounding SunLover?

Maybe with due cause but nevertheless, hounding.

[thelerner]

Excellent post. Now how do you square this Aaron with the other one hounding SunLover?

Maybe with due cause but nevertheless, hounding.

I'll answer this because I too have occasionally hounded (& at times praised) SunLover/Tulku. For me the answer is like coconut milk. Wet & creamy. No that's not it.

 

Rather we're worried him because he seems to see things in absolute black and white terms. He labels many things evil, at times woman and has talked about his role to punish temptresses and other evil doers His past writing had increasingly suicidal themes to it. Many were worried we were giving an audience to his 'point of view' and if he did something rash we at some level would be responsible.

 

We come off as harsher then we should be because we're focused on some of his old posts and themes instead of just his newest ones.

 

A more ontrack answer to Aarons post might be: If your religion teaches you fear and loathing then its time to get a new one. Thankfully mine doesn't, quite the opposite.

Edited October 9, 2012 by thelerner

[Birch]

'Lessons'. Still smacks of Old Time Religion to me. No doubt there is 'learning', but 'lessons', not in agreement. A 'lesson' implies IMO that there is some 'right' way of doing something, usually only one or two 'right' ways. But I won't go on too much about that:-)

 

Ah, what I would to be rid of all of the things I have been taught. First of all, got to find out what they are.

 

Tulku is back? Obviously the TTBs has something for him.

[thelerner]

'Lessons'. Still smacks of Old Time Religion to me. No doubt there is 'learning', but 'lessons', not in agreement. A 'lesson' implies IMO that there is some 'right' way of doing something, usually only one or two 'right' ways.

I'm kinda weary of Old Tyme Religion myself, but I think there are were some good men who created some good..dear I say..lessons from it, worth while ones. I think its possible to teach and learn good lessons without being prejudiced against other ways.

 

I'm Jewish, my kids go to Sunday school, which means they're taken to Catholic churches and learn about the Catholicism, they've gone to Mosques and learned about Islam there and explored various branches in Judiasm. Pride in Judaism is probably lesson one, but understanding and tolerance goes along with it.

[Birch]

I'm kinda weary of Old Tyme Religion myself, but I think there are were some good men who created some good..dear I say..lessons from it, worth while ones. I think its possible to teach and learn good lessons without being prejudiced against other ways.

I'm Jewish, my kids go to Sunday school, which means they're taken to Catholic churches and learn about the Catholicism, they've gone to Mosques and learned about Islam there and explored various branches in Judiasm. Pride in Judaism is probably lesson one, but understanding and tolerance goes along with it.

 

'Men', no 'Women' in there:-)?

Have the kids talked about similarities/differences between the religions? I keep forgetting, are you an esoteric or an exoteric? Bit of both:-)?

I reckon the main beef I have with the 'trimmings' of religion (the exoteric) is that they get taken too literally. Of course, people who know about this issue aren't exactly clamouring to rectify things either. I sometimes wonder why but I end up upsetting myself with that one:-(

[thelerner]

'Men', no 'Women' in there:-)?

Have the kids talked about similarities/differences between the religions? I keep forgetting, are you an esoteric or an exoteric? Bit of both:-)?

I reckon the main beef I have with the 'trimmings' of religion (the exoteric) is that they get taken too literally. Of course, people who know about this issue aren't exactly clamouring to rectify things either. I sometimes wonder why but I end up upsetting myself with that one:-(

yes, and Woman, lots of woman (I lie biblically they're a minority, but an important one). I think its important to understand the literal and historical, but often teachings I can use come from underneath the literal. Judaism is particularly rife with this, there being 4 main ways to look at biblical text, the literal often considered a lower understanding. You have biblical text that are horrific dissected flipped refocused into lessons that are universal and useable.

 

In my humble opinion most of the old testament are legends and loose histories of a people in the bronze age viewing the world from the mystery school perspective. I don't like the bible itself but there are wise men and woman who've extracted and developed a body of wisdom from it that can improve life. Maybe it could have been done through Shakespeare's works and we'd be Shakepearean's.

 

 

if anyone was interested I find the best explanation of how Jews read the bible in the Itunes podcast 'How We Read Torah' by Awakened Heart Project for Jewish Meditation and Contemplative Judaism. Not having a pope, temples and different sects have widely different customs, but I think there explanation is as true for orthodox as it is for reformed.

Edited October 9, 2012 by thelerner

[The Observer]

'Lessons'. Still smacks of Old Time Religion to me. No doubt there is 'learning', but 'lessons', not in agreement. A 'lesson' implies IMO that there is some 'right' way of doing something, usually only one or two 'right' ways. But I won't go on too much about that:-)

 

 

Dude.....sometimes there is only a few right ways to do something. There's nothing wrong with being given a lesson (provided you have a teacher with a good-heart).