No obligation to any government

Living on land deemed to be one “country” or another does not mean we owe any allegiance to the government of that country or its “laws”. “Countries” and “laws” are human fictions, created in an attempt to control people. They actually have no intrinsic or moral authority. We have no obligation to obey “laws” or to pay homage to any “government”.

It is true that such governments can use their self-created laws to justify the abuse of those it deems under its “jurisdiction”. But these things are purely fictions created by the government in its grab for power.

Truly, we are responsible only for ourselves and our impact on the world, not to some fictitious entity called “government”.

Sharka Todd

The boundary between science and pseudoscience

Star Wars Episode III

Article source: WIKIPEDIA

The boundary lines between the science and pseudoscience are disputed and difficult to determine analytically, even after more than a century of dialogue among philosophers of science and scientists in varied fields, and despite some basic agreements on the fundamentals of scientific methodology.

The concept of pseudoscience rests on an understanding that scientific methodology has been misrepresented or misapplied with respect to a given theory, but many philosophers of science maintain that different kinds of methods are held as appropriate across different fields and different eras of human history. Paul Feyerabend, for example, disputes whether any meaningful boundaries can be drawn between pseudoscience, "real" science, and what he calls "protoscience", especially where there is a significant cultural or historical distance.

If one cannot improve one's self-

then one can at least improve the company one keeps!

Sharka Todd

What is an old soul?

Source: Dolores Cannon- Between Life and Death - Conversations with a Spirit

Dolores: What about you? Are you a young soul or an old soul? In
other words, have you been around a long time or a short
time?

Spirit: All souls have been around for the same degree. Some of us
have chosen, for our own personal reasons, to incarnate into
the body more often than others. That is where they get the
term “old or young soul.” Some are young in terms of
Earthly experience. I have found that I like to do what I can
in a tangible way to help not only myself but others. Thus I
have had a tendency to keep coming back over and over.

D: Then a young soul would be one that has not had much
Earth experience?

S: Yes, or just experience in the other realms because Earth is
not the only realm of consciousness.

D: Are there any rules or regulations about how many lives you
have to live altogether?

S: Some may be able to complete their karma in one life if they
live a very exemplary life, and that is the end of it. Others
must go on and on for many, many lifetimes to work out
things that they have brought upon themselves and to learn
what they need to learn. There are some who are very new
in experience because they have perhaps just recently decided
to try out Earthly incarnations. Others have been around
since the beginning working on what they need to work on.
Others who, perhaps, started at the beginning with the others
but through long periods of rest in between lives or learning
through other means, perhaps have only had a few lifetimes.

Buddhism is the true science of psychology, not behaviorism

In science, the subjective element is minimized as it is seen as unreliable and subject to interpretation. In psychology, the field of study is the subjective realm (i.e. mental states). Therefore, one cannot minimize the subjective element. This is why psychology is generally not regarded as a science.

Science limits itself to external states observable by many. True psychology is concerned with internal states experienced only by the experiencer. To get around this problem the behaviorist school was developed which focuses on observable behaviors of sentient beings.

Many do not class behaviorism as a school of psychology (the study of the psyche) but instead as a separate discipline. While the study of behavior will reveal something about a person’s inner states it cannot reveal the inner states themselves.

In its aim to remain objective and subject to the scientific method behaviorism concerns itself only with those things that can be observed and agreed upon by many. So it is a study of behavior, not subjective states, and so is not a true study of the psyche.

Perhaps the school of thought that is most psychologically detailed is Buddhism.  This is based on thousands of years of observation by practitioners of meditation of their own mind.  This is the true psychology- for only by observing our own subjective states can we claim to be an expert on the mind.  Observing other people and animals behavior just doesn't do it.

So I would say that Buddhism is the true science of psychology and that behaviorism is some separate discipline.

Sharka Todd 

See also: Science of the mind: Buddhism v behaviourism

An argument in support of Homeopathy

Homeopathy has come under fire in recent times from people who call themselves “skeptics”. They claim that the methods used to create homeopathic medicines could not possibly result in an active ingredient being present in the medicines and therefore such medicines are worthless. It is claimed homeopathic medicines are no better than placebos.

Even if the preceding is true, there would still be value in homeopathic medicines. The reason for this is that homeopathics harness the power of belief (which gives rise to the placebo effect) in people who have faith in the efficiency of the medicine. In those with no such faith we would expect no effect, if the claims of the skeptics are true. Such people would not be drawn to homeopathic remedies. If it is believed homeopathic medicines will give the desired result with no negative side effects, then those who are able to harness the power of belief to heal their own body will receive a good result.

He who disbelieves gains poor results! (PIC)

Pic: Wesley Snipes, The Art of War (film)

A response to James Randi's call to ban psychics

 Watch a video of James Randi expressing his desire to outlaw the promotion of supernatural beliefs here.

Well known "skeptic" James Randi believes supernatural ideas are promoted by the media to please sponsors. But he fails to mention that the sponsors like having people watch their ads and that TV and radio are programmed to draw an audience to increase advertising revenue. In other words, psychic matters are discussed because people are interested in them and it therefore draws an audience with the resulting advertising revenue. This is democracy in action in the marketplace.

What Randi seems to be suggesting is some kind of elitist or totalitarian approach to remove from the media those things that a select "knowledgeable" few believes promotes untruths or "pseudoscience". But who gets to choose what is banned and what would this mean for a supposedly "free" society?

Randi seems unable to realize what he is promoting. He is certainly un-American in his thinking. Instead, he is more aligned with the Communist Chinese Government who seek to control what the public has access to, to protect the government's interests. Why any free society would wish to move closer to such a repressive regime remains unclear and highlights the shallowness of thought entertained by James Randi.

Sharka Todd

What is open-mindedness?

Banksy

For me being open-minded means allowing for the possibility of something existing which a person has not yet experienced.

It is not linked to any particular belief system, but rather refers to the stance of being willing to consider the possibility of something being true without any prior bias, even if we think that the potential of that something existing is very low.

Closed-mindedness, in contrast, is taking a pre-set position on a phenomenon, being rigid in our thinking towards it and being unable to reasonably consider evidence for its existence.

Sharka Todd

Physical form: a "camouflage" reality adopts- SETH

Bontecou

 Physical form is one of the camouflages that reality adopts. The camouflage is real, and yet there is a much greater reality within it - the vitality that gave it form.

Your physical senses then allow you to perceive this camouflage, for they are attuned to it in a highly specialized manner.

But to sense the reality within the form requires a different sort of attention, and more delicate manipulations than the physical senses provide.

Source: Seth Speaks by Jane Roberts, p.6

The universe "adjusts" to our viewpoint

Those who look for evidence of wrongdoing will find it; those who look for evidence of good deeds will find it.

Seth- “You get what you focus on.” 

Those who focus on the negative will receive a negative response; those who focus on the positive will find a positive response. The universe is really quite amenable to our viewpoint!

Sharka Todd

The fog of war (PIC)

Image edit by Sharka Todd

The Arcturians have arrived! (PIC)

Image by Sharka Todd

No denying purpose- AGENT SMITH

"There is no escaping reason; no denying purpose. Because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist. It is purpose that created us. Purpose that connects us. Purpose that pulls us. That guides us. That drives us. It is purpose that defines us. Purpose that binds us."

Agent Smith, The Matrix Reloaded (film)

GENES: two differing interpretations

Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene:
[Genes] swarm in huge colonies, safe inside giant lumbering robots, sealed off from the outside world, communicating with it by tortuous indirect routes, manipulating it by remote control. They are in you and me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence.

Denis Noble:
Genes are trapped in huge colonies, locked inside highly intelligent beings, moulded by the outside world, communicating with it by complex processes, through which, blindly, as if by magic, function emerges. They are in you and me; we are the system that allows their code to be read; and their preservation is totally dependent on the joy we experience by reproducing ourselves. We are the ultimate rationale for their existence.

Source: The Dawkins Delusion by Alister McGrath

Do subatomic particles have free will?

“If the atoms never swerve so as to originate some new movement that will snap the bonds of fate, the everlasting sequence of cause and effect—what is the source of the free will possessed by living things throughout the earth?”—Titus Lucretius Carus, Roman philosopher and poet, 99–55 BC.

article here

The intellect and mental disintegration

When the intellect alone is used to understand reality without recourse to the intuition, insanity is often the result. This may explain the high rates of dementia among ex-engineers and university professors. Without the head and heart in harmony there is discord and unhappiness and ultimately, mental disintegration.

The intellect working alone just doesn't have the resources to deal with the mysteries of life. The intellect is removed from the bigger picture, whereas the feeling nature, specifically the intuition, is connected to the whole and feels much more secure with its place in the world.

It is this security, trust and sense of belonging in the universe that makes the intuition our greatest aid in connecting with and understanding the grand design of life! And when used in conjunction with the rational nature we become a more well-rounded and grounded human being.

Sharka Todd

Violence in all forms is wrong

It is not only religions that bear responsibility for needless violence in the world. Governments also send out unclear messages in this regard.

Many governments practice (and therefore condone) capital punishment, torture, political murder, terrorist acts (generally designed to be blamed on others) and unnecessary war mongering. This sends out the message that it is OK to use violence to advance one's political aims.

When a group uses violence to advance their aims which run counter to a particular government's aims they are generally termed a "terrorist" organization. This is quite ironic given the fact that the vast majority of terrorist acts are government funded or supported.

When violence is seen as unacceptable by ALL civilized people, including their governments, then groups which use such means will become marginalized to the point where they will no longer have the support to continue their actions.

Sharka Todd

Basic ideas discussed in the Seth Material

“The basis and firm ground work of the material, and its primary contribution, lies in the concept that consciousness itself indeed creates matter, that consciousness is not imprisoned by matter but forms it, and that consciousness is not limited or bound by time or space; time and space in your terms being necessary distortion, or adopted conditions, forming a strata for physical existence.” Seth

Possible evolution of the human form

Image edit by Sharka Todd

Natural v modern housing

Modern houses tend to cut us off from natural earth energies that permeate the atmosphere. Concrete under our feet blocks subtle energies that emanate up from the ground.

A house built from natural materials helps us to maintain our health by allowing the free flow of subtle energies through the home. Such houses aid in maintaining our connection with both the natural world and with the subtle non-physical realms. Natural houses also assist in maintaining delicate balances within the body.

Modern houses, in contrast, are built from unnatural materials which interfere with natural energy flows. They form an impermeable skin that does not breathe the way natural materials do. Modern houses cut us off in a very real way from the natural world.

As our senses awaken, the natural world reveals increasing levels of subtlety. This makes living in close communion with the Earth increasingly important. Nature is an inbuilt balancing device which assists us in our evolution towards Godhood. It is the Creator's great gift to us to support us in this endeavour!

Sharka Todd

Isaac Newton, science and the "supernatural"

"When Newton proposed the theory of gravitation it was dismissed as supernaturalism because it was action at a distance. What constitutes supernaturalism in today's science may very well not be supernatural in tomorrow's science."  

Jonathan Wells

Environment, air quality and consciousness

Nature provides the optimal conditions for consciousness to flower. Trees and bodies of water provide the air with oxygen, moisture and negative ions which enhance brain function. This enables us to rise in consciousness and enhance our perception which require a higher rate of of respiration and metabolism and consequently more oxygen.

If we wish to ascend in consciousness it is beneficial to spend time in places where the air is cool, moist and alive. The air of cities is deadened by the over use of concrete and bitumen, the removal of vegetation and the toxic fumes from cars and factories.  Cities located in cool, moist climates and those situated by large bodies of water such as New York and Seattle do not have many of these problems due to the positive effects of these environmental factors.

As our bodies evolve and become more alive and able to sense increasingly more subtle energies we require more oxygen and increasingly "vital" air to support our increased rate of respiration. Cool, moist climates are the most supportive of this as is being surrounded by healthy, lush vegetation and living bodies of water.  In particular, the air by the ocean, particularly when then there is an onshore breeze blowing and the air in large areas of healthy forests are particularly health inducing and supportive of vitality and awareness.

Sharka Todd

At the heart of all creation is God...

But what is God?

The Glory of Creation.
The Heart of Creation.
That which upholds creation.
That which is infinitely good and supporting.

God has been personified, but God is beyond personhood.

How could God be a person when all life and all creation emerge from the same source- the Godforce?

God is the ground of all being, not just human being.

In near death experiences, after the body has been cast aside, God is experienced as Light, a glorious light of infinite love, wisdom, gentleness, and compassion. Sometimes this light is personified as a being of light. This person is often identified as Jesus, the savior of mankind. Why is he seen as the savior? Because he is man made perfect. Man who reflects the attributes of god through a physical form.

To emulate Jesus is divine, but of course, it must be done in our own manner, for each being or entity is endowed with unique qualities or why would the Godforce engine of creation have created and individualised us? There would be no need if we were all the same. No, the aim is to bring the divine qualities through our own being, in the unique manner that only we are capable of!

Sharka Todd

The mystery of the origin of life

"When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!"

George Wald, "The Origin of Life," Scientific American, 191:48, May 1954.

To this I would add another possibly: life (i.e. consciousness) has always existed (outside of space/time), but not in biological form.  How life stepped into this universe (or created it out of its own consciousness) is not something we currently understand!  But one thing I will say is that seeds may have something to do with it, for all life seems to arise either from a seed, or from cell division in the simpler forms of life.  So wherever life is found in this physical universe it may well have been seeded there by a preexisting race, but of course the original life in the universe must have come from somewhere, and I would say that somewhere is outside the physical dimension.  To me, this is the only conclusion that makes sense!

Sharka Todd

Why is euthanasia unallowed?

Why is ok to euthanize a dog but not a human? The former is widely accepted as an act of compassion but the latter is a crime. Why is this and why can't people be allowed to go peacefully into that "good night" of their own free will? Who is hampering them and why?

Sharka Todd

The glory at the heart of creation (reprise)

The glory at the heart of creation probably cannot be measured mathematically or understood by scientists such as Richard Dawkins. Thought, after all, cannot touch it! But it is the primary reality, experienced by all who open themselves to it!

Sharka Todd

Love your enemies, or at least...

give them no thought!

Sharka Todd

A physically focused experiential unit...

for consciousness to inhabit!

We call it a "jellyfish" but the consciousness inhabiting it just accepts its life as it is, without labels or judgments!

Sharka Todd

Consciousness is within (PIC)

Image: Ghost in the Shell (Anime film)

Love is the answer...

but what was the question?

Sharka Todd

Receiving the kingdom of God

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter therein.

Jesus
in Mark 10:15

Sicken and die

Beware the dangers of prolonged negative thinking!

Sharka Todd

What is divine justice?

As I currently understand it divine justice is orchestrated by the Law of Attraction which creates a perfect result for the mental energy we emit. Through the objective results of the thoughts we transmit we learn responsibility. If we are unaware of this then our ability to learn in this reality is greatly reduced as we will see events in our life as "random" and meaningless. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Sharka Todd

A monkey dreamt of one day becoming a man...

and a man dreamt of once being a monkey!

Sharka Todd

An explanation of Luke 14:26

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26)

@PWL- To follow the Christ as a disciple (i.e. to follow him around and/or spread the gospel as a wandering teacher) one's family must be left behind. One's commitment is to the teaching, not to prior attachments to those who are very likely worldly-minded.

This path is not for the average follower- a disciple gave their life to the Christ and his teaching. They weren't weekend adherents.  Just look at the Jedi knights in the Star Wars films- if you are committed to such an arduous task you must leave your prior attachments behind to focus on the job at hand.

Clearly, you don't need to literally "hate" everything that came before, such as your family, but effectively you "hate" worldliness and this is what most lives are based around (achieving a life of material comfort, personal pleasure and social status). Without feeling an antipathy for the worldly life one is unlikely to ever become a disciple of someone as unworldly and demanding as Jesus was/is.

From a deeper perspective, the demands of following the Christ are the demands of tuning into the spirit within and living according to its dictates.  Following the spirit is not a path for someone interested in their social standing as spirit may require actions from us that result in a loss of social "face".  If we care what the world thinks of us then we will not be free to follow spirit and therefore will be unavailable to work on behalf of the living Christ.

Sharka Todd

Care for all beings- JESUS

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me."

Jesus, in Matthew 25:40