Everything we do, every day of our lives, stems from our natural (and sometimes unnatural) fears. Fear is the basis of functionality for life. How we deal with our fears is what separates man from beast and mature men from the unenlightened.
Suppose that you are out for a night on the town. You've got your best girl (or guy) on your arm and someone starts to show some over-the-top (and probably unwanted) attention to your mate. Jealousy often rears its ugly head and we blame the green-eyed monster for our possessive reaction but we should delve a little deeper into the cause of our anger and unease at the situation. Why do we get jealous? A secondary emotion, jealousy is triggered by a more sinister master - fear. The fear of losing something (or someone) precious to us against our will causes the reaction when someone else shows too much attention to our loved ones. Without that seed of fear, jealousy would never spring into the picture.
Imagine that you are crossing the street at a busy intersection. Caution, which we attribute to our intelligence and our ability to reason, prohibits most of us from just bolting into traffic, dodging one car after another. Once again, we are placing too much credit on the wrong instinct. What makes us cautious? Why do we look both ways before crossing the street or check the water depth in the pool before diving in head first? Our ability to reason isn't at the core of our desire to show caution. Once again, the culprit is fear; a deep-seated fear of injury to ourselves spawns our careful actions. Without the dark touch of fear, caution often goes to the wind.
Fear does so much for us. It helps to remind us to think before we act. It sparks a whole serious of emotions and instigates trains of rational thought that, we hope, keep us safe from harm and far from trouble. Horror movies and thrillers take full advantage of the power of fear. The adrenaline rush brought on by fear is big business in Hollywood and even this use of the most primal of emotions for profit has something to teach us. As time goes on and the terror genre gets deeper and darker, we learn that the more realistic the situation, the more intense the reaction of our fear. No longer are the movie monsters of our pasts sufficient to draw out the response of fear. Michael Myers may still elicit a shock when he pops up alive for the thousandth time but the fear reaction is subdued - there is no danger there. Now we reach to new heights to activate our response and intensify our experience. The movie monsters of today are serial killers and sadistic murderers and pictures of men and societies gone horribly wrong. Will these, too, one day lose their power over us?
Why is fear such a driving force in our lives? Why does it have so much power over us? Why is one simple primal instinct at the heart of everything we do? Think back on human history, long before the advent of advanced cultures. Mankind has three basic needs (simplified from earlier versions): food, shelter (the need for clothing is often included in the need for shelter), and companionship (including both the social and sex instincts of man). Yet even at the deepest roots of these most simple of necessities is the heavy hand of our fear. It is the fear of suffering in the elements that makes us seek shelter; the fear of starvation that sends us searching for food; the fear of loneliness and the end of our species that causes us to seek out others like us. Everything that we do, as individuals and as societies, can be traced back to the guiding force of our ever-present fears.
The trick is not to let our fears overwhelm us. Of course our fear is essential to our lives, if not it wouldn't have such power over us. We just have to remember that, though our baser fears sow the seeds for our thoughts, reactions, and emotions, they are not meant to control us. They serve their purpose most effectively if we let them ignite the flame of reason but not overpower it. Otherwise, we would be no better than the lower mammals, living on pure instinct and falling victim to the power of our fears.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Who is this God person anyway?
***DISCLAIMER: If you are incredibly sensitive about religion, God, or matters of faith then the following may or may not offend you. Everyone has the right to believe what they choose and this is just one small part of what I believe about God (as I understand Him).***
So many different opinions exist regarding God. It is a matter of fact that the vastly diverse systems of religious belief in the wide variety of deities worshipped around the world throughout human history has been the single source of disagreements that have resulted in more and bloodier wars than anything else in our society. No mere economic or political conflict can hold a candle to the horrific chaos that results from dogmatic differences when it comes to religious beliefs.
There is an interesting quote that I would like to use as a basis for the diatribe to come. It comes from the song entitled Dear God by Sarah McLachlan and is as follows... "Did you (referring to God) make mankind, after we made you... and the devil, too?"
Before anyone gets their feathers too ruffled, I should explain something very simple. I have no problem with God or a belief in Him. I personally believe and feel that I have a close connection to this supremely spiritual being. There is, however, and important distinction that should be made. God (as you choose to understand Him) is an integral part in every religious belief, but religion is NOT necessary to maintain faith in God. Something that we all tend to forget is that, just as the various civilizations rise in power, prosper for a time, and then crumble into ashes only to be replaced by new social groupings, the various religions of the world, throughout history, do the exact same thing. It is the nature of anything that is created by man that it must only be temporary.
You are now probably just burning with fury at the insinuation that religion was created by man and, therefore, can not be an agent of God. Think on this for a moment - just a few thousand years ago (not terribly long in the grand scheme of history), the known world was ruled by the ancient empires of Rome and, before that, Egypt. In other parts of the world, the dominant cultures were those of the Native Americans (the Maya, Incas, and Aztecs to name a few) and before any of these were ever even thought of the ancient Sumerians and other groups had control. The thing that is most pertinent about the rise and fall of all of these prominent cultures (and the others like them) is that, long before any of our modern beliefs in God (or any derivation thereof) were even conceived of (let alone preached from pulpits to the sheeplike masses) these cultures retained their VERY OWN systems of belief that were all unique and were all entirely unlike the major belief systems as ascribed to today. That means that the religious dogmas of today must have been created long after the creation of man.
There is a point to the history lesson above and that is this - if God made religion then why are all religions NOT the same and why do the "right" religions of our time (for every culture that believes also believes that IT is the only one that has it right) not date back to the beginning of human history? One would infer that, if God had created religion for us, He would have created it when He created us, yet this is not the case.
We can, therefore, deduce that organized religion, in all of its various forms throughout human history, is a product of the minds of men. Furthermore (and here is the kicker) one might draw the conclusion that, as all organized religions are man-made belief systems centering on a variety of different and unique deities (yes there are still some polytheistic cultures in the world) then the particular deities at the center of each individual dogma must also be creations of mankind.
This is not to say that God does not exist. I am actually quite certain that God (of my understanding, for I think that everyone has their own unique relationship with the higher power, spiritual creator, or whatever one might choose to call the supreme being) does, in actual fact, exist. I am also quite convinced that He is NOTHING like what we have made him to be. Man, after all, has the tendency to use organizations and groups as a means of controlling other men. This is simple fact. That is why, therefore, all religions, and indeed all of the different gods (I will no longer capitalize when referring to man-made gods), reflect the characteristics that the leading groups of people responsible for their creations chose for them to reflect. That is the reason that all of the many different gods are simply so very different!
Now that I am quite certain that I have offended all of the religious believers in the world, I might as well go ahead and finish the job with a final declaration: though some of the ideas of the many different belief systems are inherently good, for the most part the creators and leaders of the religions of man are LYING TO YOU! The lies are descendents of those perpetrated generations ago in order to make groups of people succumb to the will of those either in power or who wished to be in power. Religion, as made by man, is a FRAUD!
For those of you who are faithful (I use this term to refer to the very small number of people who have faith in something more without following a man-made dogma like cattle) I hold out hope. I know that, as non-traditional believers who do not subscribe to any religion in particular, we are, therefore the most persecuted of all. We are often called atheists, though that is a different group entirely. As agnostics (those who believe in a higher power but feel that organized religion is unnecessary) we are condemned and slandered by ALL of the other, more powerful groups (including, as it were, the atheists)! There is a shining light at the end of the tunnel though for those of us who are faithful and choose to persevere, knowing that there is something more to believe in than that which was just conceived by the powerful upper echilon. Like all of the other dogmatic beliefs in human history, even those that are currently in power will, eventually, either evolve and change with the times or one day fade away into the dim light of history. Luckily for us, we will still have the God of our understanding even as all of those organized beliefs preached from the various pulpits of the world wither away.
So many different opinions exist regarding God. It is a matter of fact that the vastly diverse systems of religious belief in the wide variety of deities worshipped around the world throughout human history has been the single source of disagreements that have resulted in more and bloodier wars than anything else in our society. No mere economic or political conflict can hold a candle to the horrific chaos that results from dogmatic differences when it comes to religious beliefs.
There is an interesting quote that I would like to use as a basis for the diatribe to come. It comes from the song entitled Dear God by Sarah McLachlan and is as follows... "Did you (referring to God) make mankind, after we made you... and the devil, too?"
Before anyone gets their feathers too ruffled, I should explain something very simple. I have no problem with God or a belief in Him. I personally believe and feel that I have a close connection to this supremely spiritual being. There is, however, and important distinction that should be made. God (as you choose to understand Him) is an integral part in every religious belief, but religion is NOT necessary to maintain faith in God. Something that we all tend to forget is that, just as the various civilizations rise in power, prosper for a time, and then crumble into ashes only to be replaced by new social groupings, the various religions of the world, throughout history, do the exact same thing. It is the nature of anything that is created by man that it must only be temporary.
You are now probably just burning with fury at the insinuation that religion was created by man and, therefore, can not be an agent of God. Think on this for a moment - just a few thousand years ago (not terribly long in the grand scheme of history), the known world was ruled by the ancient empires of Rome and, before that, Egypt. In other parts of the world, the dominant cultures were those of the Native Americans (the Maya, Incas, and Aztecs to name a few) and before any of these were ever even thought of the ancient Sumerians and other groups had control. The thing that is most pertinent about the rise and fall of all of these prominent cultures (and the others like them) is that, long before any of our modern beliefs in God (or any derivation thereof) were even conceived of (let alone preached from pulpits to the sheeplike masses) these cultures retained their VERY OWN systems of belief that were all unique and were all entirely unlike the major belief systems as ascribed to today. That means that the religious dogmas of today must have been created long after the creation of man.
There is a point to the history lesson above and that is this - if God made religion then why are all religions NOT the same and why do the "right" religions of our time (for every culture that believes also believes that IT is the only one that has it right) not date back to the beginning of human history? One would infer that, if God had created religion for us, He would have created it when He created us, yet this is not the case.
We can, therefore, deduce that organized religion, in all of its various forms throughout human history, is a product of the minds of men. Furthermore (and here is the kicker) one might draw the conclusion that, as all organized religions are man-made belief systems centering on a variety of different and unique deities (yes there are still some polytheistic cultures in the world) then the particular deities at the center of each individual dogma must also be creations of mankind.
This is not to say that God does not exist. I am actually quite certain that God (of my understanding, for I think that everyone has their own unique relationship with the higher power, spiritual creator, or whatever one might choose to call the supreme being) does, in actual fact, exist. I am also quite convinced that He is NOTHING like what we have made him to be. Man, after all, has the tendency to use organizations and groups as a means of controlling other men. This is simple fact. That is why, therefore, all religions, and indeed all of the different gods (I will no longer capitalize when referring to man-made gods), reflect the characteristics that the leading groups of people responsible for their creations chose for them to reflect. That is the reason that all of the many different gods are simply so very different!
Now that I am quite certain that I have offended all of the religious believers in the world, I might as well go ahead and finish the job with a final declaration: though some of the ideas of the many different belief systems are inherently good, for the most part the creators and leaders of the religions of man are LYING TO YOU! The lies are descendents of those perpetrated generations ago in order to make groups of people succumb to the will of those either in power or who wished to be in power. Religion, as made by man, is a FRAUD!
For those of you who are faithful (I use this term to refer to the very small number of people who have faith in something more without following a man-made dogma like cattle) I hold out hope. I know that, as non-traditional believers who do not subscribe to any religion in particular, we are, therefore the most persecuted of all. We are often called atheists, though that is a different group entirely. As agnostics (those who believe in a higher power but feel that organized religion is unnecessary) we are condemned and slandered by ALL of the other, more powerful groups (including, as it were, the atheists)! There is a shining light at the end of the tunnel though for those of us who are faithful and choose to persevere, knowing that there is something more to believe in than that which was just conceived by the powerful upper echilon. Like all of the other dogmatic beliefs in human history, even those that are currently in power will, eventually, either evolve and change with the times or one day fade away into the dim light of history. Luckily for us, we will still have the God of our understanding even as all of those organized beliefs preached from the various pulpits of the world wither away.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Letter To My Lost Friend...
To our dearly departed friend,
I want you to know how much everyone misses you. It has been hard for all of us since you left. I saw your mom a short time ago and she seems to be doing better but of course, she’s still not her old self. Monday night classes are just not the same without you. It’s really awful not to be able to hear you laugh at everyone's comments or our teacher's jokes. I don’t really have anyone to go eat with afterward or watch the new movies I want to see. That was kind of our thing, you know, and I’m trying to figure out how to go on doing that stuff with you gone. I don’t understand why you left us but I’m sure that you had your reasons. I don’t know why you couldn’t talk to me about them – we talked about everything else. I wish I could have been there to help you but I wasn’t and that kind of makes me feel partially responsible. I feel like I failed you as a friend and I just wish I know what I could have done to make things better for you. I know that I can’t change things but I still want to. I at least want to learn what mistakes I made so that I don’t make them again. I can’t bear to let anyone else down like that. I really do wish I could have been there for you. I think about you every day and wonder “what if?” I don’t like the way this feels.
It was so unfair for you to do this to us, you know. We had no warning, no way of knowing anything was wrong. You didn’t let anyone in – didn’t tell anyone what was going on. That hurts so much. How can I get over something that I don’t understand? I cry sometimes when I think about you. That part really sucks. I want to think of the happy memories that I have of time we spent together. It just bothers me because as much as I want to remember the good times, it hurts so much that you’re gone. I cry and then I’m angry. I’m angry with you for leaving. I’m angry with you for the way you made us all feel. I’m angry with you for making everyone cry, for hurting us so badly. The problem is that I don’t want to be angry with you. I don’t want to feel this way and it hurts me even more that I can’t let it go. It’s not fair for me to be mad that you’re gone. You did what you felt you had to do so what right do I have to be mad at you for a decision you made about your own life? You decided it was time to go so you left.
I still miss you every day. I still smile at your memory, even after I cry, sometimes through the tears. I think everyone feels the same way. I don’t understand why you are gone but it doesn’t really matter because you are and that is something that is set in stone. I want you to be back here, with us, but that will never happen and so all I can do is laugh and cry and be angry all at once. I hate feeling this way. You know how much I try to control what I think and what I feel. I will always remember you and the good times that we had, I just want to try and forget the bad stuff and I guess that just takes time. I just want it to get easier and I’m afraid that all of my memories will stay tainted by my own anger and pain at the circumstances. I don’t want it to be this way anymore.
Know that I will think about you always, my dear departed friend…
I want you to know how much everyone misses you. It has been hard for all of us since you left. I saw your mom a short time ago and she seems to be doing better but of course, she’s still not her old self. Monday night classes are just not the same without you. It’s really awful not to be able to hear you laugh at everyone's comments or our teacher's jokes. I don’t really have anyone to go eat with afterward or watch the new movies I want to see. That was kind of our thing, you know, and I’m trying to figure out how to go on doing that stuff with you gone. I don’t understand why you left us but I’m sure that you had your reasons. I don’t know why you couldn’t talk to me about them – we talked about everything else. I wish I could have been there to help you but I wasn’t and that kind of makes me feel partially responsible. I feel like I failed you as a friend and I just wish I know what I could have done to make things better for you. I know that I can’t change things but I still want to. I at least want to learn what mistakes I made so that I don’t make them again. I can’t bear to let anyone else down like that. I really do wish I could have been there for you. I think about you every day and wonder “what if?” I don’t like the way this feels.
It was so unfair for you to do this to us, you know. We had no warning, no way of knowing anything was wrong. You didn’t let anyone in – didn’t tell anyone what was going on. That hurts so much. How can I get over something that I don’t understand? I cry sometimes when I think about you. That part really sucks. I want to think of the happy memories that I have of time we spent together. It just bothers me because as much as I want to remember the good times, it hurts so much that you’re gone. I cry and then I’m angry. I’m angry with you for leaving. I’m angry with you for the way you made us all feel. I’m angry with you for making everyone cry, for hurting us so badly. The problem is that I don’t want to be angry with you. I don’t want to feel this way and it hurts me even more that I can’t let it go. It’s not fair for me to be mad that you’re gone. You did what you felt you had to do so what right do I have to be mad at you for a decision you made about your own life? You decided it was time to go so you left.
I still miss you every day. I still smile at your memory, even after I cry, sometimes through the tears. I think everyone feels the same way. I don’t understand why you are gone but it doesn’t really matter because you are and that is something that is set in stone. I want you to be back here, with us, but that will never happen and so all I can do is laugh and cry and be angry all at once. I hate feeling this way. You know how much I try to control what I think and what I feel. I will always remember you and the good times that we had, I just want to try and forget the bad stuff and I guess that just takes time. I just want it to get easier and I’m afraid that all of my memories will stay tainted by my own anger and pain at the circumstances. I don’t want it to be this way anymore.
Know that I will think about you always, my dear departed friend…
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Please pay attention - our menu options have changed...
I'm so tired of things being done the way they always have been. Change is a good thing. We do it all the time as we move through life from birth to death, but somehow we are still so very averse to something so common.
Humanity, as a whole, is static. Our civilization seems to be stuck in a rut so deep that there is simply no way to get out of it. Why do we allow that to happen? How can our society function with antiquated laws, outdated sensibilities, and outmoded belief systems? Our country, as the most advanced and industrialized nation in the world, has fallen behind the rest of mankind. We are, all at once, the most closed-minded, backward-thinking, and conservative nation in existence.
The problem isn't inherent to the entire population of America. So many of us have changed with the times. Many of us have learned to cope with the changing times and adapt to the demands of the ever-more-modern world in which we live. The problem, however, is with the rulers of our country.
Our government seems to base its policies and beliefs on a number of fallacies that continue to hold our society back from the advances of the rest of the world. Our nation, founded on the premise of religious freedom, is now governed by a group of right-wing conservatives who love to live in the past and hold us to the dated and stringent system of morality of some of our more puritanical forefathers.
Have you ever wondered why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Ever noticed how our government is in debt but those that govern are wealthy? The reason is that the static hand of the conservative continues to reach deeper in the pockets of a continually evolving populus. There is money to be made in keeping the American people in a kind of moral straight jacket. We want to grow with the rest of humanity and change with the times but we just can't. When did our desire for self-government grant the governing body the right to legislate morality? When did the private behaviors of two consenting adults become a matter for politicians and judges? Who gave Uncle Sam the right to tell us what we can and cannot do in our own homes? I don't advocate anarchy, but one of the basic principles of our right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is that, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others, then we can achieve that inalienable right however we choose. Unfortunately, our government doesn't seem to agree.
That is why our freedoms get taken away from us. Smoking is governed by ever-more-strict legislation as tobacco is taxed more every day. Gay marriage is banned in more states and localities all the time while unhappy heterosexuals clog our court system with divorce proceedings. Alcohol takes the lives of both the drinker and their innocent sober victims while smoking one single joint has proven medically harmless, doesn't cause accidents, and can still send you to prison. So many things need to change and yet the vast majority of Americans are held so tight by their political overseers that they are afraid to speak out any longer. It's a vicious cycle in which more and more of our freedoms are lost every single day of our lives.
How come the bank's automated system can change its options but the most powerful nation in the world is stuck in a downward spiral dragging it more and more into a very real, if unspoken, despotism? The powerful have too much power and we need to remind them that we are a democratic republic. It is time for us to remember how to use our voice.
Humanity, as a whole, is static. Our civilization seems to be stuck in a rut so deep that there is simply no way to get out of it. Why do we allow that to happen? How can our society function with antiquated laws, outdated sensibilities, and outmoded belief systems? Our country, as the most advanced and industrialized nation in the world, has fallen behind the rest of mankind. We are, all at once, the most closed-minded, backward-thinking, and conservative nation in existence.
The problem isn't inherent to the entire population of America. So many of us have changed with the times. Many of us have learned to cope with the changing times and adapt to the demands of the ever-more-modern world in which we live. The problem, however, is with the rulers of our country.
Our government seems to base its policies and beliefs on a number of fallacies that continue to hold our society back from the advances of the rest of the world. Our nation, founded on the premise of religious freedom, is now governed by a group of right-wing conservatives who love to live in the past and hold us to the dated and stringent system of morality of some of our more puritanical forefathers.
Have you ever wondered why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Ever noticed how our government is in debt but those that govern are wealthy? The reason is that the static hand of the conservative continues to reach deeper in the pockets of a continually evolving populus. There is money to be made in keeping the American people in a kind of moral straight jacket. We want to grow with the rest of humanity and change with the times but we just can't. When did our desire for self-government grant the governing body the right to legislate morality? When did the private behaviors of two consenting adults become a matter for politicians and judges? Who gave Uncle Sam the right to tell us what we can and cannot do in our own homes? I don't advocate anarchy, but one of the basic principles of our right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is that, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others, then we can achieve that inalienable right however we choose. Unfortunately, our government doesn't seem to agree.
That is why our freedoms get taken away from us. Smoking is governed by ever-more-strict legislation as tobacco is taxed more every day. Gay marriage is banned in more states and localities all the time while unhappy heterosexuals clog our court system with divorce proceedings. Alcohol takes the lives of both the drinker and their innocent sober victims while smoking one single joint has proven medically harmless, doesn't cause accidents, and can still send you to prison. So many things need to change and yet the vast majority of Americans are held so tight by their political overseers that they are afraid to speak out any longer. It's a vicious cycle in which more and more of our freedoms are lost every single day of our lives.
How come the bank's automated system can change its options but the most powerful nation in the world is stuck in a downward spiral dragging it more and more into a very real, if unspoken, despotism? The powerful have too much power and we need to remind them that we are a democratic republic. It is time for us to remember how to use our voice.
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