Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The work ethic


image by Leunig

The town of Allopath (VIDEO)


Watch the video which is critical of mainstream western medicine (allopathy) treating symptoms rather than the causes of disease.

Near-death experiences of atheists


Atheism- apparently not a one way ticket to hell or any other particular place, according to the reports of eyewitnesses!

Relationship-plant analogy


Relationships are like plants- they are fragile in their early stages and then mature and strengthen. Early on people are more easily frightened away- care should be taken at this stage! Growth cannot be forced and will move at its own pace.

DO NOT JUDGE THIS PACE!

Each relationship takes a unique form. We shouldn't attempt to force it to fit a preconceived idea we have. It may not fit into accepted notions of society- so what? All relationships are unique and should be allowed to flower in their own time.

Each relationship requires care and attention as would a plant in your own garden. With neglect it may fade away, if harassed it may die. When treated with sensitivity and respect it is likely to thrive!

Space travel


Nothing physical is believed to be able to travel faster than the speed of light.

Therefore, given the vast size of the universe, space travel will only become truly effective when spacecraft are able to leave this physical realm and reappear within it at another location in space-time.

For this to occur there must be a shift by the travellers to another dimension of reality which allows the inhabitants to reconnect with physical reality at another point in space-time.

Currently the human race appears to be a long way from having developed such technology. However, the common sightings of apparent extra-terrestrial spacecraft in the earth’s atmosphere by reliable witnesses suggest other races have already done so.

Our greatest chance of developing successful space travel technology therefore seems to lie with opening channels of communication with such beings in the hope they would be willing to share their knowledge.

However such communication on a general scale is unlikely to occur until the human race has progressed beyond its violent and environmentally destructive ways.

For what advanced race would currently wish to provide the means for humans to spread their destructive ways throughout the universe?

Image: Overseer by Unknown

Let everything be...


and come to rest! (Once in a while!)

Respect for atheists


I like Richard Dawkins. Although I believe in a spiritual dimension of which I view this world as part, I do not blame or condemn anyone who doesn’t share this view.

People can only hold with what they have experienced to be true in their own life, and if this doesn't include evidence of other, generally unseen (but not unseeable) dimensions, then it is only right that they identify themselves as atheists or agnostics.

Such views deserve the respect given to any other form of belief!

Response to an article on "alternative" cancer treatments and their promotion


original article here

Competition in the marketplace is always a good thing whether it be health treatments or anything else, for it provides choice which we all appreciate. However, the idea is that some health treatments are more "rational" than others or have passed a greater degree of scientific scrutiny. If this is so, it needs to be communicated in a form the public readily understand.

It is only natural that people shy away from treatments that are destructive in any way. The Hippocratic Oath means that healers will avoid using such treatments, unless no other option is available and the benefits are believed to outweigh the disadvantages.

Ultimately it is the patient’s body and they will make the final choice as to what they wish to subject it to.

I believe it is useful for those who have undergone conventional and unconventional treatments to report on their experiences to help educate those who may be considering similar options.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Power to the person!


Any movement which removes authority from the individual and places it in the hands of an elected or unelected elite, I oppose!

Any movement which supports the autonomy of the individual, I support!

Fact v truth


A fact is a quality of the physical universe that is widely agreed upon. It can relate to events that are widely believed to have occurred or to physical objects or relationships between physical objects that are agreed to exist.

A truth is a different matter. Truth is generally used to refer to a deeper order of events than purely physical “facts”. Some would call this the “spiritual” level. “God is love” is an example of one widely held “truth”. Another could be “life is meaningful”. Neither of these two assertions can ever be proven in a comparable way to those of physical facts. Therefore, they are not seen as the province of physical science but rather of spiritual belief systems.

It follows that the idea that certain scientific discoveries have somehow dislodged certain spiritual truths (such as "God is love") is mistaken because scientific facts(called "supported theories") are dealing with a different order of reality.

“Truth” can only be known by an individual human whereas “facts” are widely held and easily observable by many people. "Truth" refers to an inner ordering of events whereas facts are a description of the outer order of events.

Truth can never be found “out there” in the way facts can be, but only in the recesses of one’s own (spiritual) heart!

Materialism, mind, causation and free will


Although materialists may admit that mind exists the line of causation is from matter to mind. That is, the mind is seen as just an expression of the various forms matter takes and as such is subject to the deterministic “clockwork” movement of matter. As a result there is no room for free will, the belief in which almost all social contracts are made.

Free will can only exist if the line of causation runs from mind to matter, or from mind to matter and from matter back to mind. Mind must precede matter for it to be the master. Otherwise it is just the slave to deterministic forces and has no true reality or effectiveness of its own. The other possibility is that matter is mind in motion, objectified. And as such mind and matter should move simultaneously but mind will be the driving force and matter will reflect the action of mind imprinted on the physical universe.

Neuroscience seeks to answer this question by measuring what comes first: the change in brain state (matter) or the change in consciousness (mind). This assumes that time has a reality more fundamental than mind; otherwise such findings would be meaningless. And the truth is that both theories- matter creating mind and mind creating matter would predict that brain states and mind states should occur simultaneously. And if they do not, what does that truly signify?

God and the physical universe


@Peter- if "God" is all places at all times then there is no need [for "Him"] to travel super- or sub-luminally. For if the universe is occurring within the mind of God, what problem is the laws of physics? The physical world as perceived is a construct of the human mind and the laws of physics are concepts within that construct. "God" is a word to describe that which is "larger" or prior to the human mind and as such cannot be conceived.

P.s. what I have written is meaningful to a philosopher but not to a scientist. Philosophers take the human mind as the primary truth whereas scientists take the physical universe as the primary truth and some in fact pretend the mind away! They are called "materialists".

Science=dogma, religion=dogma

2 story library, old books on shelves
For science the dogma is whatever theories are currently in vogue, generally these are grouped around a central belief- such as the primary reality being matter, not mind, and the belief that mind is purely a creation of matter.

For religion the dogma is whatever interpretation church elders place upon their "holy books".

Both are subject to change but generally at a glacial pace, particularly in the case of religion.

In both "cults of belief" dogmas are almost impossible to crack for you must first sign up to believe in the dogmas before the cults will even allow you a voice. And even then any sign of disagreement will most likely get you thrown out of the club!

It is the rare person that can go through the indoctrination machine and come out the other side with a mind free enough of dogma to be able to challenge it!

Sharka Todd

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Science: the study of appearances


The appearance of something is not the same as its underlying reality but try telling that to a scientist!

For the study of science is the study of appearances: the “outward” nature of things, rather than their “inward nature”, which we could perhaps call "the contents of consciousness".

It is this "inner nature" which is so real to each of us- indeed it is our only experienced reality- and yet it is ignored by science, particularly the physical sciences, which hold such sway over the thinking of mankind.

Because this content of consciousness cannot be placed in time and space or viewed with the 5 outwardly focused senses (as it is not material in the ordinary sense) it is ignored and pretended away into non-existence.

The end result of this is a society that thinks only physical things are real, that life is ultimately meaningless and that existence ends when the body ceases to function.

This is due to placing too much emphasis on the physical sciences which only deal with a small fraction of reality- the physical domain.

Science is unnecessary as a lens on reality


Science is unneeded as an intermediary between oneself and reality. Life is far richer than any description that a construct of the human mind, such as science, is capable of producing.

Observation with a still mind and alert senses remains our greatest window into life, whereas seeing life through the lens of any theory- whether it be "scientific" or "religious"- only distorts and limits our vision and understanding.

People of a scientific or skeptical bent will tell you that our senses cannot be trusted and that we must trust the pronouncements of science above our own observations and experiences.

But I am telling you that there is no scientific tool or technique that can replace or compare to the meditating human being in gaining a clear and deep understanding of life!

Sharka Todd

Intuition: our inner guidance system


Our strongest, easiest, most direct path in life to our goals is known not with the mind (i.e. thought, based on logic and past experience) but with the intuition (which is felt within the body-mind as a subtle sensation).

Intuition straddles space and time where all is one and is our voice from our non-physical selves. It gives subtle communications that we need to listen to if we wish to make our lives simpler, more effective, more joyful and more flowing.

The sensation of intuition is gauged when we are focused upon a possible course of action by the sensation of resistance or allowing within the body.

First we need to become mentally quiet while being focused on a possible course of action and then we guage the feeling within our body as to whether it is soft and non-resistant (a clear path) or resistant (a path of suffering/resistance).

In this way we can choose the path of least resistance and maximum joy!

Here is an excellent video by Judith Orloff explaining how to sense intuition.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The "divine" and the laws of physics- two sides of the one coin?


What one person may call “divine order” another may call “the laws of physics”.

Some see the beauty and majesty of life and say “God” whereas others just say "life".

The more beauty one sees the more likely one is to evoke the divine. But for others "the divine" has no meaning. Everything is just matter, whether beautiful or not.

For the spiritualist everything is proof of God, or the divine’s existence, but for the materialist everything is seen as just a manifestation of immutable physical laws causing the movement of matter and energy through space and time with no special meaning attached!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

The truth about religion- MATTHEW WARD


The truth is, as equal parts of God — by whatever name you call the ruler of this universe — all of you are gods and goddesses with unlimited powers to manifest whatever you choose to think, feel and do. The truth is, religions were devised to keep you from knowing who you truly are, to keep you ignorant of the universal laws, and to create divisiveness within the populace.

The truth is, peoples you call “natives of the land” or “aboriginals” are closely attuned to the universal consciousness whereas religious dogmas, especially in Western religions, were made through the centuries by church leaders to obliterate that natural attunement, control the masses and acquire wealth for themselves.

The truth about Christianity is, it is based on fabrications about Jesus’ birth, crucifixion and resurrection, and his teachings were deliberately distorted through dilution and omission. Jesus was conceived and born just like every other human baby, and he never was put on a cross.

He was flogged by the Sanhedrin, who ruled church and state, and was banished — they wanted him out of that land, not make him a martyr whose death would increase the numbers of his followers. With his pregnant wife Mary Magdalene, Jesus went back to the East, where he had gone as a youth and spent many years studying with the master teachers.

From them he had learned the interconnectedness of all souls with each other and with God and how to use the universal laws for healing bodies, changing or multiplying forms, de-materializing and re-materializing matter and the like — so-called “miracles” that every soul has the innate capacity to perform. That is what Jesus was teaching to the multitudes.

Because spreading that knowledge would spell doom to the purposes of the self-serving Sanhedrin, they dealt severely with the disciples who continued Jesus’ teachings, and by making him “the only son of God,” they elevated him to a status that no one else could ever attain.

Also, both Jesus and Mary Magdalene were from highly respected families at the top of Hebrew society. Having him born in a lowly stable and portraying her as a prostitute were other false parts of the story whose roots were in avarice, hubris and power lust and has been handed down through the ages.

MATTHEW WARD

Source:
Messages from Matthew, September 11, 2010

True knowledge


True knowledge comes from the direct observation of an object or situation, free of thought. It does not come from discursive thinking.

This is also known as "grokking"!

Spontaneity in a patterned life.


Living a preset pattern (such as a 9-5 job) tends to close us off from our intuition which is always urging us to try new things and explore new situations.

This is difficult to do if we must be at the office by 9 or else!

However, within the constraints of the patterned life the opportunity still exists to try new approaches and to bring a fresh perspective to each situation we encounter.

Speed and rush and you lose your soul!


Slow down to the speed of your breathing if you wish to reconnect with life!

The wind and the water always choose the path of least resistance...


we should too!

Fire, steel and controlled demolition- alternate 911 theories


Snippet of conversation on 911 relating to steel and fire

@J* R*: your doubts [about the alternate 911 theory] are answered in the video series [featuring David Ray Griffin] beginning here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbY5_qtz83M

The 911 “alternate” conspiracy theory does not rest on what hit the Pentagon. The question of how the nominated Arab pilot could (not) have pulled off such a move is discussed in the video.

Even if the steel lost strength [in WTC 1 and 2] near the crash zone and subsequent fires the remaining steel below would not have*. Therefore, a collapse at near free fall speed would be impossible. This is only possible if all support failed near simultaneously which would not be the case in a fire, but would be in a controlled demolition.

(*This ignores the fact that steel is an excellent conductor of heat and that the heat applied to steel near the crash zone would have been conducted away from the site throughout the steel core of the building keeping the steel temperature too low to cause significant structural damage.)

Sharka Todd

Taboo- discussiing 911 with an alternate narrative


What is interesting to me is the psychology of taboo in mainstream media and in almost all mediums of communication, bar the internet.

Discussion of what happened on 911, except for repeating the officially sanctioned story, is almost outlawed! And this is supposed to be a free society? Communist China could not have done a better job in controlling the narrative and they must be studying how to use the idea of censorship by taboo rather than by law and force of arms from their "friends" in the West.

It seems to start by using the world "conspiracy" and then discrediting it and ridiculing anything associated with this term. This tactic is used to marginalise viewpoints perilously close to the truth about issues that are disturbing to the government and the ruling elite.

We must use our discrimination to see through the fog of lies perpetuated by those who gain from keeping the population in a state of ignorance.  This begins by disregarding the bleating of the "conspiracy theory" label voiced by the gatekeepers of the official lie!

Sharka Todd

David Ray Griffin- 911 truth leader


"In heraldry, the griffin's amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness, and it is always drawn to powerful fierce monsters. It is used to denote strength and military courage and leadership. Griffins are portrayed with a lion's body, an eagle's head, long ears, and an eagle's claws, to indicate that one must combine intelligence and strength." wikipedia GRIFFIN

David Ray Griffin speaks on Debunking 911 Debunking.