STP
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Posts posted by STP
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Brazil's other contribution-- ayahuasca
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the observer has lost his way, attaching to fragments of a passing story.
can he let the story go completely, losing himself so entirely as to....find himself?
Who is himself? Himself is maya, everchanging.
"All conditioned phenomena
Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow
Like the dew, or like lightning"--Diamond Sutra
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Describing human behavior as purely instinctual is a bit simplistic.
A view that appears so mechanistic and reductionist by incorporating bits of Freud (biology is destiny) and Skinner (we are mindless automatons) among others.
But if we see unexplainable examples of innate (instinctual) behavior in animals, for instance, a bird that manages to build a nest without prior knowledge(or is there really 'innate' behavior?) then by extension wouldn't you suspect the same for humans or are we really that removed from the 'lower' animals? As far as genes determining our behavior, see for instance this: The gene that makes us once bitten, twice shy
Our 'instincts', or deep seated emotional drives and impulses, may drive us to think, feel, or do one thing while our prefontal cortex drives us to think, feel, and do another.Why new age buddhism is so appealing?
I do agree that philosophy and religion are two common sources of morality, which is a human construct, but a person who has...A Christian would say that morality derives from God, that morality derived from man is flawed.
Governments, of course, are one of the chief engines of morality today. They have become extremely adept...Social manipulation for the Atman or Immortality Project (google Ken Wilber). He uses the example of the pyramids as a grand social project built on the mass contribution of the people but overseen by the governing elite.
It's all about the power structure.
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Obama's chickens have come home to roost.
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oh nevermind I mentioned anything.
let me get back to my beer and pretzels.
Administration Asserts No Fourth Amendment for Domestic Military Operations
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...a lighter and a needle?
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BTW, what's up with those double-headed eagles anyway?
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Isn't it a part of our cultural psyche? You know, like flaunting what stands for authority?
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If it were as easy to defuse the situation by pressuring governments to reform so that their people were not disenfranchised.
Not sure democracy is the answer also given what happened in Gaza Strip (?)--Hamas leaders elected or was that Hezbollah in southern Lebanon?. Turkey could be an example--internally driven change leading to secular/religious separation.
Seems some of the seeds of the current situation were planted long ago, things such as the British partition of the Middle East, remnants of the Cold War powerplay, etc.
The costs of keeping an occupation army in the Middle East would be prohibitive to future generations and I suspect would be enough to cause a return to conservative values espoused here.
Of course, Israel and the Palestinian situation are the central axis of interest. Muslim countries should recognize Israel as having a right to exist and in turn the Palestinians should be accorded some rights. That's my opinion, but not an original one. Some things though seem impossible, for instance, the situation of who claims Temple Mount.
Call me naive but history has shown that things can improve such as the end to active conflict between Irish Catholics and British Protestants in Ireland, end of Apartheid in South Africa, end of Soviet curtain and reunification of Germanies, etc.
Does it seem that there are elements that tend to gain by keeping things in conflict and division? Something people have said is the true goal in Iraq.
Is it simply, if there were the political will then things could change? Or, do we have to see painful birth pangs before better happens. For instance, it took two world wars of dominance to see the formation of the European Union.
Hah, maybe justice Pervian Alberto Fujimori-style is more like it. Limit power to the executive, hunt the agitators down and try them in a Star Chamber.
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I think we do ourselves a great disservice when we use such a broad brush to convey Islam as only a regressive movement and seek to demonize its followers. Granted there are elements of threat to our way of life but I would think that it's not the religion itself as much as something else that is expressing itself and being labeled as Muslim.
There's branch called Ismaili whose leader has a different take on influencing the world.
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I don't find this disturbing at all. Humorous but not disturbing. C'mon he's a black rapper, born in Baltimore, raised in the projects in NYC, in and out of jail through his young life. So he's ignorant.
I find this woman to be disturbing ( Harman: I Didn't Know Surveillance Program Broke The Law ).
Her bio says she is a JD Harvard Law, and served as special council to the DoD, served on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, and she served in the Carter administration when FISA was passed. -
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If I recall correctly, the beginnings of the Renaissance in places like Florence were fostered by the reintroduction of ideas from pagan times, Neoplatonism for instance. Even machiavelli owes a debt to the Romans.
Christianity alone would have stifled some of the new developments in technology and science. Take a look at the advancements in human anatomy gained by dissecting corpses, something forbidden by the Church. What about Galileo's telescope used to see the moons of Jupiter, etc?
The saracens studies the greeks. then the europeans like Albertus Magnus and by extension Thomas Aquinas carried on the development of ideas by the cross fertilization of cultures, maybe the good thing to come out of the crusades.
I suppose if countries acted as japan did during its closing to the outside world then yeah stagnation but once it opens up then development.
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"It's not what you believe but why you believe it."
Seems that why you believe something is part and parcel of what you believe. And, if you're talking about something all encompassing as a worldview then it gets rather complex to dissect. Maybe you could say it boils down to Lindburgh's alleged anti-Semitism and that if he held those beliefs then there were no legitimate reasons to hold them.
There is disinformation all around. Too bad we can't just awake and rise above the cultural milieu. Why do we always have to be backwards looking to see the error of our times?
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There's a few people here who I respect for how they think though I don't necessarily agree. You're one (Sobo), JayB, MattP, others
I'm going off of a hunch but I don't believe that market forces alone will take us out of the global warming mess (It may be already too late.). I'm not sure I'm using the right terminology but the market (one side being the mass aggregates of our consumer decisions) is not some omniscient being who sees the big picture.
Earth Hour? Sure, recognition of a problem is the first step to solution followed by action. The question is what is the appropriate action? Is it simply, every little bit helps or are we talking more radical things such as a carbon tax on energy consumption?
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I suggest it's rather the opposite. The ones benefiting are the opportunists who gain political capital by pushing hate. Who benefits? The Muslim immigrants to Europe or the anti-immigrationists? Same applies here (America) with regard to other matters.
Not taking sides here, given that the immigration has produced problems with nonintegration but that's another problem seeking another solution.
i must say you are greatly mistaken. for once i must agree with fw on this one. the problem is islam and the immigrants themselves. maybe less turks. being immigrant myself i can't agree nor accept their mentality. they do move to different countries, with long history and culture. simply you can't show up and try to change these countries into muslim republics, just because you moved there.
you can't even compare immigrants from mexico and other latin countries to what's happening in europe.
and maybe you should posting your uneducated opinions maybe you should read some history books to understand the whole issue.
You have some strong feelings there, Sparky. Can't say much for your reading comprehension though.
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I suggest it's rather the opposite. The ones benefiting are the opportunists who gain political capital by pushing hate. Who benefits? The Muslim immigrants to Europe or the anti-immigrationists? Same applies here (America) with regard to other matters.
Not taking sides here, given that the immigration has produced problems with nonintegration but that's another problem seeking another solution.
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So I heard that the reason for things such as the subjugation of indigenous peoples, for instance, is that the Church is an institution of men. Just as men are fallible so is the institution.
What if Christians used the depictions in the Book of Revelation or Matthew 10:34-39 or Luke 12:49-53 to justify warfare and conflict?
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So, the subprime mess is attributable to those who bought houses? No demand, no supply, no mess.
BTW, I wasn't talking about the products derived fromcows. Rather I was making the comparison that the consumer does what comes naturally given his choices. Who decides what choices the consumer has available? Is it actually the consumer? Besides, are we to assume that the majority of consumers are rational decision making beings? If you knew otherwise, then aren't you guilty by implication if you are complicit in abetting the consumer's mischoice?
What about corporate responsibility and ethics, whether it's global warming, environmental pollution, or what have you?
So, with regard to the subprime example,should the financial institutions be held up to scrutiny and if some are insolvent, allowed to fail rather than have the American taxpayer bail their asses out? The Fed basically came to the rescue of Wall Street at the expense of higher inflation to consumers.
I can't say I understand all this economic stuff. I did read somewhere that the economic reprecussions of letting Bear Stearns fail would have been greater than what we will experience presently.
Anyway I don't think I responsed to your interpretation of the analogy. It has more to do with JayB's comment about the illegal drug trade.
Dollie Llama putting the smack down on China?????
in Spray
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Holy shit! The Dalai Lama's talk is definitely a plug for Buddhism directed to impressionable people especially children. Just like using endorsements by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Hey, it's cool! And it's cutting edge! It incorporates the latest findings in psychology and human behavior.
And damn, with Vajrayana, there's that sexual dimension to explore too.
And who couldn't use a little magic in their lives?
Gotta say though, your point is well-taken. This shouldn't be an all but sponsored event by the school district (or WEA or whomever) using the kids as a captive audience.
As i understand it, Buddhism is a syncretic religion but at its core it is deeply superstitious and irrational. Sure you can pick and choose, make it New Age but it, as any orthodox religion, is rooted in fundamentalism too.