Do we Change? Do we Evolve?

[thelerner]

I was thinking about change after reading a post from ET-Thought-: "Once a liar, always a liar. Once a murderer, always a murderer. When does a liar cease to be a liar... never! "

 

This seems more then a little harsh. In the stresses of modern day life people do wrong; react with greed, selfishness and fear. I don't think they're irredeemable. I like to think there's hope for most people and to judge too permanently is to risk hypocrisy. Life can be a windy twisty road taking us to some strange places and down some nasty ravines.

 

 

Do we change and evolve?

[zerostao]

of course we all have the ability to change.

if one is not evolving then they are de-volving.

there is no staying in one constant state.

i have witnessed some remarkable changes in peoples attitudes and minds.

(including my own)

[Protector]

Short answer: PICKLES!!!

 

Long answer: http://www.mangareader.net/118/rurouni-kenshin.html

[Marblehead]

I agree with Zero. But I will suggest that change come in a purer form if we have first paid for our wrong-doings.

 

You got the death penalty? Oh well. If you are Buddhist you get another chance.

[XieJia]

I don't have much to offer.

 

But I do think that it's to do with what we thinks of ourselves and others,

That too may change. Is there such thing as an absolute claim?

 

The Wise teacher taught me to regard

the good deeds in the past to be passed,

the bad deeds in the past to be already passed.

One have the choice of doing what's proper or improper right now.

 

I found that works with me.

Edited October 15, 2012 by XieJia

[zanshin]

We change. I don't think individuals really evolve and this word evolve too overused. Let's save it talking about species and natural selection. It's really easy to change my mind, not so much my DNA.

[hydrogen]

I believe that we're here on earth to change ourselves for better.

 

I used to be a cheater. Now I'm a very faithful person. I'd rather die than cheating now.

 

I had a death experience (not near death). I can't describe what happened. Basically I died. All my wrong doings came back to me. I was in hell for a few days.

 

Please keep an open mind and have compassion for those who don't know.

[Stosh]

I was thinking about change after reading a post from ET-Thought-: "Once a liar, always a liar. Once a murderer, always a murderer. When does a liar cease to be a liar... never! "

 

This seems more then a little harsh. In the stresses of modern day life people do wrong; react with greed, selfishness and fear. I don't think they're irredeemable. I like to think there's hope for most people and to judge too permanently is to risk hypocrisy. Life can be a windy twisty road taking us to some strange places and down some nasty ravines.

 

 

Do we change and evolve?

Et isnt on solid ground there.

My own answer ,,

 

Depends on what you think you actually are ,doesnt it?

Are you a body ?

Are you a collection of habits and attitudes?

Are you an individual real and truly?

Are you a persistent vortex in a turbulent sea?(metaphorically speaking)

 

The future hasnt been written yet

the past is written in stone

and yet the future ...will come to be anyway

and the past is as gone as gone can be

 

Stosh

Edited October 15, 2012 by Stosh

[Marblehead]

The future hasnt been written yet

the past is written in stone

and yet the future ...will come to be anyway

and the past is as gone as gone can be

 

Stosh

I like line 3 of that.

[Fū Yue]

You are not a liar or a murderer forever, because eventually you will die. Everything passes through the trial of life and death with a clean slate, because there's never anything left over, it's all reduced, reused, and recycled. Mother nature is all about green living.

[Stosh]

I like line 3 of that.

 

I was hoping for all four to be good ones

Batting 250 is passing grade though

Stosh

[Birch]

You're not a murderer. You murdered someone.

You're not a liar. You lied.

 

If you're a liar, you can never be capable of truth because of your nature as a liar.

 

 

I've often heard 'best indicator of present and future conduct is past conduct'. No idea how often that turns out to be the case.

[Birch]

I propose that if you can trust yourself you'll be fine:-) But I wouldn't equate that with 'not trusting others' as your own self will make that abundantly clear whether you ought to in the circumstances or not. What often happens IME is that something (call it 'convention' for now) acts on our trust of our own perceptions and understanding leading us over time to be less willing to trust ourselves. Language is directly related to this process IMO IME.

[Birch]

I have a bit more confidence in myself than I do in others. I do not explicitly distrust others, but neither do I implicitly trust them. I have encountered a small number of people who end up with a significantly higher degree of trust, but I am always willing to give the benefit of the doubt until someone proves consistently untrustworthy. In general I tend to feel that people have good intentions, but fail because of their own illusions or weakness. This is not a harsh criticism. I don't get angry at them for this. How can you get cross at the grass for being green or the sky for being blue? It is simply where they are on their path.

 

It's close to what I was trying to get at, but not quite what I meant. What I meant is that through absolute trust in yourself and your own perceptions you will know whether to trust anyone else (or not) under any circumstances. It's not a 'preset' thing, which would be the thing that leads you (or me for that matter) away from being able to do so.

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Marblehead]

I was hoping for all four to be good ones

Batting 250 is passing grade though

Stosh

Yeah, but line three was novel to me. I have already stated the other lines myself in one way or another.

 

Indeed, the future will come, anyway. Change will come, anyway.

[GrandmasterP]

People I meet who remember past lives all seem to have been something really spiffy before. Priestess in the Temple of Isis, some sort of Queen. A super-duper magus, Shop Steward to the Druid, Bards and |Affiliated Trades Union..... that sort of work.

And usually the ones claiming that have pretty mundane lives, jobs or no jobs at all this time round

I hardly ever seem meet anyone who was a sewer operative in Delhi in a past life but when you think of it for every top job there are thousands of ordinary jobs..

[et-thoughts]

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Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[et-thoughts]

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Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Stosh]

The idea that I would have to keep building on previous lives

That the lessons both positive and negative would keep intruding on

fresh attempts .. just doesnt appeal to me.

I much better like the idea that each shot would be a clean break

a fresh start , entirely free of my old identities and hang-ups

maybe

each rebirth, I am unburdened

maybe

each other person, is also me

which would mean that my 'progress' would

be both inevitable and impossible

 

I just like the idea of experiencing ones life or lives

with as little burden and as much satisfaction

as can beStosh

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Birch]

The problem that I always run into with that, and what I was trying to alude to in my last post, is that I do not have absolute trust in myself and my perceptions. I look around every day at people who have deluded themselves into believing all sorts of things that seem completely irrational to me. If everyone around me is capable of doing that, why would I be immune from the same possibility. What you seem to be getting at is intuition, and I do put a lot of value on that. I'm not trying to be argumentative, it is just that the absolute trust part seems like an important sticking point to me.

 

I didn't say it was easy. For the reasons you state above (and more). I don't mind argumentative. I'm also not immune.

[Stosh]

If there is a desirable 'way out' then I am sure some folks somewhere do find it

and so , with any hole in the bucket , eventually all will drain through

Stosh

[et-thoughts]

.

Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[hydrogen]

Depends on the flow into the bucket and out of the bucket and the currents within the bucket... some may be caught in the whirlpools forever entrapped going round and round...

 

Where is hope, love and compassion?