Healthy, natural young woman (PIC)

The chair Jack Kerouac built (PIC)

Photo by Sharka Todd

Religious division in a relationship (PIC)

Image edit by Sharka.  Original image from the movie "In Time".

The 2 processes for self-knowledge

1.    Observation/Meditation- Observation of our own mind, body and environment with a still mind, letting go of our train of thought when we realise we have become lost in it, focusing on something in the body or in our environment or on consciousness, itself, prior to content.

2.    Contemplation.  Thinking deeply about our meditative experience and the insights we gained from it along with contemplating deeply the words of others who possess great wisdom.

Sharka Todd

Science of the mind: Buddhism v Behaviorism

Observing the behavior of other people and animals may give us insights into their thinking process but the true science of the mind come from observing the only mind we truly have access to- our own.  There is where meditation comes in.  As Buddhism has been studying the mind through meditative practice and describing and analyzing the results for thousands of years, it’s fair to say it is the true science of the mind.  There is no other school of thought that has put as much time and effort into understanding the mind.

Modern, “scientific” methods are based on observation of behavior, not the mind directly, or on observation of the brain which is also not the mind.  Therefore, any of the methods of understanding the person are limited and are not dealing with the true primary reality we all experience- the mind, which is not the same as the body, although it works through it.

Sharka Todd

Millions worth of seashells (PIC)

Photo by Sharka Todd

The control and outlawing of mind alterants

Any new drug discovered is either owned and controlled by a pharmaceutical company or it's outlawed.  This is living in a “free society"!

The fact that you have to go though the medical establishment to get hold of the legal drugs makes them unattractive or out of reach to most people who don't have a serious medical condition.  After all, you don't need to be sick to benefit from a psychedelic!  But psychedelics are outlawed.  Heaven forbid you should gain an alternative view on life through ingesting a physical substance!  The sky might fall in!

Why there is a war against alternative states of consciousness facilitated through psychedelics is not entirely clear.  Whether there is a fear among the ruling elite that people broadening their mind through psychedelics makes them harder to control, I don't know.  It is also argued that purveyors of existing legal drugs pressure governments to outlaw competing drugs to protect their profits.  This seems a reasonable argument and shows how vested interests can work against the freedom and well-being of the people.

See also: Why I am against the drug war

Sharka Todd

Don’t ya rile ‘em-

but do asylum!

Going to the light upon death

The question to me isn’t whether we go to the light upon our death, the question is: what happens next?

Sharka Todd

Biology v. psychology of disease

Over attention to the biology of disease has led to a kind of tunnel vision which sees all disease as caused by one "bug" or another, and one chemical imbalance or another.  Therefore, the solution to disease is seen as taking physical actions to correct the chemical imbalance or to kill the guilty bug in question. 

To gain a broader perspective of disease we need to develop an understanding of the psychology of disease, not just its physical manifestation.  For, although physical factors such as diet and exposure to harmful substances can be important, we can’t forget that our mind is, to a large extent, the determining factor of how our biology operates.  It controls- or strongly impacts upon- our hormone levels, the effectiveness of our immune system and many other internal processes that we are not consciously aware of!

Without paying attention to our thoughts and their effects on our emotions and biology we may be missing a large piece of the health puzzle!  To truly understand disease and avoid it we need to pay attention to our mental processes and their physical effects in addition to what we expose our body to physically.  In this way we maximise our chances of leading a healthy life!

Sharka Todd 

See also: Mind and matter are interweaving processes- SETH

The problem with modern medicine

Medicine, as currently practiced, is the product of an unholy alliance between big business and government.  This doesn’t make all modern medicines bad but it does result in a skewed view of what is best for human health, in my opinion.  Treatments that contribute to the profits of big business are widely promoted while those that don’t are often ignored or even vilified.

Many say modern medicine is “scientific” but a deeper look into current medical methods and products reveals that very little of it has proven itself in truly independent double-blind trials.  The reality is that many methods and products are used because they suit a certain agenda and world view rather than because they have proven themselves truly effective in a scientific way.

Sharka Todd

"Come to Dust" by Boards of Canada (MUSIC)

Finally, a girl with her own spaceship!

Beck's song "Missing" (VIDEO)

Embrace Emptiness

The "unexplained" philosophy

The purpose of the unexplained philosophy is to mystify subjects that seem simple and straightforward.  By confusing people an opening can be made where a new view is formed, hopefully broader and more truthful than before!

SHARKA Todd

Observation without thought and analysis

Some people believe the key to understanding life is in gaining a theoretical perspective of it, like a scientist or philosopher does, whilst others believe understanding lies in paying attention to the present moment without thought, as the unmoved observer.

There are those who say that once a label is attached to something the label is false because it is a label and not the thing itself.  In other words, the description of something is not the thing itself.  This seems obvious but is ignored by the scientist who deals in abstract concepts and acts as if they are the real thing, themselves.  In this way, the whole universe has been reduced to an intellectual abstraction in the mind of the scientist. 

In contrast, the serious meditative observer realises that the thing they observe is truly unknowable, but that it can be seen and felt in the present moment through the mechanism of one's consciousness, and not in any abstract thought about the past!

SHARKA Todd