My Way
Why am I writing this?
It is important for anyone to have beliefs that come from somewhere other than the opinions of their teachers. I am writing mine down so I can be sure that the foundations of my thoughts and actions are solid, and so others who disagree with me can know why I make the decisions I do.
Why should everyone write something similar?
I think everyone should take time to lay out what they believe so they can go back and be sure they are following the spirit of their life philosophy. Even if one believes whole-heartedly in an established religion, I think they should break it down so they know why it is they believe the things they do, and why it is they act the way they were taught to act.
Why do I believe what I believe?
I cannot accept that everything that exists is a matter of pure coincidence, nor that the cyclical universe we dwell in has simply always been, or somehow came out of nothing for no reason. It is the beginning, and not the end, that demands a creator. But if we accept the belief that there is some ageless consciousness present in the universe, what religion knows its nature? I certainly don’t believe whatever created ALL THAT IS is a petty, jealous, wrathful entity that demands people sing to it once a week and concerns itself with whether or not people think it exists. In fact, I can’t imagine it would be concerned with anything at all, nor that it would take a hand in the lives of creatures living in a system as sublime and delicate as the one designed for us to dwell in, especially when a being of infinite wisdom would understand the disruption possible should a being that can not be held accountable for it’s actions effect change in a closed environment.
Where do the basic premises over which this belief structure is founded come from?
My belief structure is based on the assumption that the universe is, at its most basic level, balanced and fair. Not fair in the ‘he got ice cream and so should I,’ way, and certainly not in the fox news way, but rather in the way that states that there are universal principles that apply equally to all things, save those things that are exceptions by nature; and that there is a barter system present, all actions being answerable to cost and consequence. Nothing happens without a cause and an effect.
A word about basic assumptions.
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."
-Mark Twain
There are some things we just don’t know. But often these things are the basis for our actions, thoughts, and feelings.
Most central to philosophy and our general attitude and outlook is the question of weather there is a higher power, continuance after death, and if there is a purpose or reason for our existing.
As it stands now, and as I imagine it will stand for quite some time, there is no way to know. So, in this case, and what an important case it is, you must look at the options laid before you, and choose what you will believe, that cannot be proven, but will nonetheless shape every aspect of your existence.
Here are the categorical options, and what I think of them:
A pre-established religion such as Christianity or Buddhism.
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Theism: the idea that there are unknowable powers within the universe that take a hand in our lives.
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Deism: the idea that there are unknowable powers within the universe that do not interfere with out lives.
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Atheism: the idea that there is no higher power, continuance after death, or metaphysical component to the universe.
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Agnosticism: the belief that one does not have enough information to make a decision.
I’m not a fan of organized religion. The fact that Jesus shows up and tells everyone to love one another, and then more people are killed in his name than for any other reason in history rather makes me shy away. Plus a lot of the things in many religions are just patently ridiculous.
Theism is what many Christians don’t realize they are. They pick out all the cute and inspirational aspects of their faith and leave all the distasteful stuff behind. These are sometimes referred to as “cafeteria Christians.” Of course, you can be a Theist and actually know what you are as well. It’s a fun belief system, in which all the coolest parts of your favorite fantasy series might one day happen to you. The reason it doesn’t jive with me is that it seems strange that a power would make a universe with all these uber-complicated laws to govern it...and then run around willy-nilly fucking with things. Also, I find that most of the reasons which people believe God intervenes in the world are based on premises that attribute human foibles to God. (Needing to be sung to or worshiped, fear of death, caring about your big screen TV.)
Deism is my personal favorite, not because it’s the smartest, that medal goes to the Agnostics; but because it has the best balance of rationality and optimism. Of course, if you’re like some people, you may be thinking: “Rationality? What could be less rational than believing in some invisible man in the sky? That’s pure fantasy!” And may be you’re right, but the fallacious nature of your argument is revealed when one disregards the rhetorical caricature of God this argument paints and takes note of the necessity for origin that exists within our universe. That is to say, everything has a beginning, and a cause, except for the universe itself. Therefore, the universe must have a cause, and that cause must be fundamentally different than everything else in the universe. To simply accept that the universe has always existed, and did not come from anywhere, makes just as little sense as the prospect of their being a higher power. I also like this point of view because it makes sense to me that a creator would not interfere with rules said being put into place, nor would said entity impinge upon the free will of the people of the universe by personally getting involved in its affairs. An interesting note, ridiculously smart people, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Socrates, tend to be Deists.
Atheism is just depressing. It’s on par, from a rationality perspective, with my chosen path, but God…there’s just nothing? Yikes. Atheism also makes me nervous because of it’s implications as to ethics. Enlightened self-interest aside, most of you will never impact your spouse’s life to the tune of a billion dollars. Are you comfortable with the idea that if your spouse was offered that sum to kill you, without fear of the law, they’d do it? Because according to Atheism, if they don’t, it’s not because they love you…it’s because they’re too weak and socially brainwashed to do what’s best for themselves. There’s also the matter of my afterlife in a box theory, explained below. Really smart people who are also really bitter tend to be Atheists. One thing to consider is that Atheists get to abuse the Starbucks fallacy, (explained below.) It’s like their super power.
Agnosticism is the smartest theory. They just don’t know. Good for them. There really isn’t enough information to know for sure. Agnostics are good at math.
(Not really, I mean, I’m sure some of them are…but I just made that up.)
My issue with agnosticism is its lack of commitment. Faith is a powerful tool. My belief that there is rhyme and reason to the universe allows me to know what I should do in any situation. I have a map and compass I can use to figure out what the most ethical course is, and a source of courage to follow through with that course. Really smart people who are afraid of confrontation tend to be agnostic.
The Starbucks fallacy
The Starbucks fallacy is the rhetorical argumentative technique of leveraging people’s natural inclination to believe the more cynical argument is probably the correct one to make you seem right. It’s very simple to use. You simply get your opponent to say something optimistic or romantic, and then you give them a light smile/sneer and raise an eyebrow, as though you’re loath to disillusion them by explaining why adults understand the world just doesn’t work that way. Even if you’re wrong, the people around you will often feel embarrassed about the immense stupidity the other person must posses to believe the fairy tale gumdrop ranting you’ve just made it seem as though he was espousing.
Afterlife in a box
This is an idea I had when studying dreams and how your mind can dilate time and make it seem as though more time is passing than really is. There is a possibility that when your brain shuts down, in the instant before you die, your brain manufactures an afterlife for you based on your belief system and your perception of how you’ve lived your life up to that point. Though to other people, this instant will pass immediately and your brain has no further function; to you, that final instant will go on indefinitely and you’ll be present in whatever form you have convinced yourself, over the course of your life, you should be. In fact, that could be what’s going on right now while you’re reading this…
Anyway, on to the main course…
What I believe
Metaphysics
The question of a creator, the watchmaker
I believe a creator must exist, not because I don’t want my consciousness to be worm food when I die, although this is a compelling emotional argument, but rather because I believe their must have been a force present before the existence of anything, in order for there to be something, and that whatever that was there before anything that chose to make something must have made that choice for a reason, and that requires a decision, which suggests will, which requires thought, which means that whatever brought something from nothing was in some respect aware, and without beginning, and thus in all probability without end, and again, most probably, incapable of making a decision to allow other awareness to exist as a consequence, rather than a cause. Thus, if I follow myself correctly, life is a product of thought, rather than the reverse, and not subject to ceasing to exist. Matter decays, but energy goes on.
Purpose
Why are we here? Why do we exist? What are we supposed to accomplish? People turn to god not only out of fear of death, but also largely because the idea that our only purpose is to breed is depressing. So what are we here to do? Many religions say we are here to glorify god, as though we are part of god, inc. and we are competing against some other deity. This would be an interesting idea, if this was actually party line, but when god will win no matter what, and what we do, and whether we glorify him enough or not, doesn’t really effect anything, too much thought can bring you right back to the whole meaningless existence question.
I propose we are here to learn and grow, that we live and die and live and die until we are finally free of all the irrational negativity we walk around with and we have finally experienced everything there is to experience and are finally ready for something more, or at least different.
The Three Materials
I believe a person is made up of three components, or materials, that determine what sort of person they become.
The first is genetics, which we are familiar with, and have a great deal to do with things like: what makes them sick, what they look like, how quickly they react to changes in their environment, how they respond to changes in diet and activity, and how well they perform certain activities.
The second is environment, or the manner in which a person is raised, which I believe has the lion’s share to do with what sort of personality that person has, what he or she thinks about right and wrong, how well one interacts with others, and how knowledgeable a person is.
The third material is will, the component tied to a person’s soul, and this, of course, is the most controversial part. Everyone knows the other two contribute, but no one wants to seem like a witch doctor and say that someone’s soul could have something to do with the decisions someone makes, not imply that a person could be predisposed toward being a good or bad person. But I believe that if one accepts that an immortal soul exists, and you do not believe that you are born with a new soul, live for 100 or less years, and then die and are judged on the basis of that fraction of a century and sent either to eternal bliss or unending torment, then it is most probable that you take more than one ride on the coaster, and if your continuing consciousness did not have some effect on your present life, you could make the same mistakes over and over, never grow, and not be able to figure out why, which violates the assumption that the universe is, at it’s most basic level, fair and balanced. I believe this component exists because people break out of bad environments all the time, and because people sour good environments all the time, and because, and most importantly, two people, starting from the same point, and with the same goal, might choose two entirely different ways to get there.
The soul, and the End
the universe explodes outward from a single point, and for trillions of years it explodes outward spherically until it loses enough momentum that it pulls itself back together, finally into a single, point, and goes again. It’s the yo-yo of god. I think the soul is very similar. A person’s soul expands, and contracts, and at some point a person lives, and a person dies, and the soul just keeps on going, blue phase, red phase, as body’s walk through life after life, able to interact with other souls on a physical level. But there is only one universe we know of, and six billion people just on our planet. Imagine if there were multiple universes passing through one another. There would be destruction, chaos, and tremendous acts of beauty as the peoples of these varied creations fought alongside one another to make their time together better, and built monuments to remember civilizations that had passed with their spiraling galaxies out of time and reach. So it is, I think with the souls of the people we affect, and the people who affect us. We pass by, over, under and through one another, taking on some, dropping off others, being scarred and inspired as we float through life after life, mourning a cherished friend as she passes beyond our reach, and celebrating a companion from another time when we meet her and know her immediately, though we have never met her before in this life.
And the cycle goes on and on, until finally, when we reach a state of such sublime love for all the creatures of the earth, when we can feel completely alive, and pass beyond the boundaries of negativity completely and have purged ourselves of the friction of anger, fear and hate, our personal universe, our soul, never loses that momentum, but expands forever, as we are able to feel unconditional love for all the creatures of the earth.
Heaven and Hell
This should be obvious. Really, how much sense does it make that the conditions in which we will be condemned to spend eternity will be determined by our actions on the earth for some zero to one hundred years? Just as it is senseless to believe someone will be tortured or blessed forever due to the set of metaphysical beliefs they adopt, is it not senseless to believe that a person will suffer FOREVER for acts, no matter how atrocious, that occurred over a span of mere years? Creation is numbered in eons and even it does not glimpse the boundaries of eternity. It seems a terrible crime to expect that a child will be dropped on his head as a baby, turn out to be a sociopath, and then spend forever in agony. And the reverse, that an innocent child be killed, and enter everlasting bliss, while comforting, is similarly ridiculous. Heaven and hell are very real, but they are ever present in our lives, and just as religion suggests, they are places we condemn ourselves to. Is a life spent in love with someone who loves you back not a life lived close enough to God? And does someone who spends their life alone in pursuit of a goal and always doing the right thing, but who dies unappreciated and with their life’s work unfinished and unfulfilled, not tasting torment? Of course, these are examples rooted outside of oneself, and ultimately the only person who will determine weather a person is happy or miserable is that person, but I’m sure you get the idea.
Values and Habits
If we accept that a person is made up of the three materials listed above: genetics, environment, and will, then we can see where a person comes from, but we still have no way to measure why that person acts the way they do. Here we’re getting a little less abstract and establishing a concrete method of categorizing personalities. Everyone’s personality is made up of a matrix of values: it’s wrong to judge other people, it’s wrong to be gay, sports are stupid, football should not be interrupted by the president or anyone else, I’m not my brother’s keeper, we should police the world, ext; and habits: I’m never late, I eat a bowl of ice cream every night before bed, I do push ups every morning, I never miss “Survivor,” I review what I need to do tomorrow every night, I’m consistently late to my job at TGI Friday’s.
Values are largely the result of environment, disturbingly few people question childhood conditioning, while habits, or good ones at least, are formed by people who are genetically predisposed towards those particular habits, or by people who are taught how to form habits, and the importance therein. Values are often the measure of a persons standing on the scale of good and evil, and habits tend to determine where someone will fall as far as being successful and unsuccessful. It’s important to note that disharmonic values are what cause some issues to be irresolvable. Most arguments stem from ignorance of facts, from miscommunication or from vaguely defined terms, however when none of this is the case, you are not actually arguing about the issue at hand, but rather about the differing importance you each assign to the variables within the issue. For example, when a group of people is arguing about where to go eat, it will often take a LONG time to make a decision. Why? Because each person assigns different values to food quality, service, nutrition, and inexpensiveness. A decision will be reached soon after the group starts discussing which of these characteristics is most important to the individual members. In larger issues, however, such concessions as, “well, we obviously can’t go somewhere Bob can’t afford so we’ll rule out A-G.” just don’t happen.
Universal rights and wrongs: exalted ethics
Let me start off by throwing out a very important statement:
PEOPLE SHOULD BE FREE TO DO WHATEVER THEY LIKE SO LONG AS THEIR ACTIONS DO NOT IMPINGE UPON THE FREEDOMS OF OTHERS.
Some people don’t seem to think that there is such a thing as absolute right and wrong, they believe society dictates morality and it’s all subjective. Other people believe that their favorite book or Sunday morning entertainment should dictate to everyone how they should live their lives weather they like it or not. But the fact is that everyone who had ever lived has longed for freedom, and if you want to know the difference between right and wrong, it’s right here: it’s wrong to try and force people to believe as you do. Even if their beliefs are wrong, not just different, but entirely wrong, as long as they aren’t hurting anybody, LET THEM BE.
Now I know that you can take this to the extreme, what about carbon monoxide from cars, what about hurting people by cursing when it could offend them, what about hurting people by not trying to force your opinions on them if them not accepting your opinions will mean they will burn in hell, and so on and so on. The fact is that no one I’ve ever talked to has had a problem knowing what constitutes hurting other people. They may act stupid about it, but they all know that we need cars, and they all know that cursing is just syllables strung together, and they all know that no one can tell where you’re going when you die. And really, that’s why there are laws, to draw a line between acceptable and not acceptable violations of other people’s liberties. For those of you who believe that nothing is wholly right or wrong, I’ll just quote the great Kevin Murff, “Is it ever right to hate, even if it’s warranted? Is it ever wrong to love, even if it’s undeserved? And when is it wrong to forgive? Not even when all the world says you don’t have to.”
And I believe that it’s never wrong to stand up for what you believe is right. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but that’s a lot of walking. Remember, “all that must happen for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” And what’s the easiest thing in the world to do? Nothing.
Theory of emotional resonance
This is the method I use to determine what to do, or at least what I should do, in a given situation. Every thing we do, every action we take, has consequences. Ripples in the pond, I’m sure you’re familiar with the metaphors. You can use the butterfly one if you like. Point is, try to be aware of the consequences, the ripples. How? Surprisingly simple. You cut someone off in traffic, they get road rage, now let’s not assume they go all Mike Tyson and bite someone’s ear off, let’s assume instead they go home and snap at their wife, who then yells at their child, who kicks the dog, who goes outside and bites the mailman, who snaps at his boss, who fires him, and so on. Seem outlandish? How about this: you’re at the bookstore, you see your dream girl, but you’re scared, you don’t talk to her, you feel tiny, like a coward, like a failure, you go home and decide to sit around and do nothing, you don’t study for your test, you fail, you run out of money for college, you get a job as a waiter, next thing you know you’re forty and waiting tables, wondering what happened to your dreams. Still seem out there? Probably is, but how many times do just the first couple of steps happen? How many times does the chain go even further? And how many times does a simple act of anger, or fear, or hate, lead to something infinitely more tragic? Negative emotions cause negative results, positive emotions cause positive results. Want to live in heaven? Start by refusing to be a part of other people’s hells.
The four keys
Life is like a big hallway, filled with doors, and every door has a lock. If you want to open the door, you must have the appropriate keys; some doors have more than one lock, of course. What are these keys? They are measures of your health or achievement in different area’s of your life.
spiritual
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mental/emotional
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physical
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financial
Each one of these four areas is essential to a complete life. Without spiritual fulfillment one will not have a sense of purpose and cannot feel happy and complete. Without mental health one cannot interact with other people rationally. Without physical health one cannot function structurally in the same manner as other people. And without financial independence one is compelled to trade one’s time for money, rather than using it for what they feel is best.
Now some people might disagree. Some people might say that a spiritual life is unimportant; but is one has no spiritual beliefs, what does one derive enjoyment from out of life? Simple physical gratification? Sultans living with massive harems and endless supplies of food and wine went mad for a lack of productivity. And a person with poorly thought out spiritual beliefs is like a computer program, crashing whenever a situation occurs it has not been specifically programmed to deal with.
Some people might feel that mental ability is less important, though I think their will be far fewer dissenters here. But look at Forest Gump; as successful as his life was, he was still terrified that his son would be like him. As far as the physical goes, there are indeed many wonderful, wonderful people living incredible lives in spite of physical handicap and hardship, but there’s not a man alive who can’t walk who doesn’t wish he could. And finally there is the financial area. I know quite a few people who don’t really think money is that important. They agree that it takes money to make most peoples dreams come true, and they agree that it would be nice to be able to go through life without having to worry about weather they could afford to eat where they want to eat, live where they want to live, wear what they want to wear, and do what they want to do; but they have been taught that more money just brings more problems, and that there is something insidious and inherently wrong with having money. Well, the fat is that money is like a magnifier for a personality. Money makes good men great, and money makes bad men worse. And money is a measure of power, which can corrupt, but it is certainly not absolute power, and when it comes to money, the average American is no where near being healthy, let alone so swollen with it that they need to worry about not loosing sight of morality. In fact, only the top one percent of Americans are financially independent, let alone obscenely wealthy. That means that only one out of one hundred people in this country even has enough money to decide for themselves what to do with their own time.
The three feathers
The three feathers are three verbs unique to sentient life. They separate it from animals, and from perfection. They are the mark of a divine spark coupled with free will. They are:
to aspire
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to regret
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to forgive
Only people dream of being more than they are, only people go out of their way, strive against the odds, endure discomfort, and delay short term gratification to achieve long term goals. Animals don’t because they do not possess the self awareness to try to improve themselves, although they will try to improve their situation. And a perfect being is already perfect, and so has no need to aspire.
Only people have regrets, wish that they could take back a thought, word, or deed, animals simply do what their instincts tell them, they are innocent, and again, a perfent being would never commit an act that it would regret.
And forgiveness…before you start pelting me with bibles, let’s take a moment and think about God. He has a plan, yes? And he knows everything that will ever happen, yes? So how could he forgive you for something he made you to do? And even if he could, if you were going to do something he didn’t want you to, but he knew you were going to do it, he could simply make sure you didn’t, right? And even if you did anyway, being perfect, God wouldn’t be subject to the imperfect emotions of anger or pain that make forgiveness necessary, correct? After all, you’ve never forgiven anyone for something that didn’t bother you, have you? And if you think that God if perfect, but he also gets angry, think about anger, anger is simply a manifestation of a loss of emotional control, a temporary chemical imbalance a perfect being would certainly not be subject to.
Keep these in mind, and remember always to aspire to be more than you are, to attempt to live every moment without cause for regret, and to always forgive those who hurt you, for that is the easiest way to forgive yourself.
The law of personal reflection
Simply states that the manner in which you treat other people is the manner in which you will treat yourself. If you do not lie, but frequently omit information and tell half truths, you will communicate the same sort of messages to yourself. If you are constantly telling yourself that other people are beneath you, you will find yourself insecure and constantly be aware of people you encounter who you feel you are beneath. If you treat other people with consideration, and do it consistently, you will find that that is how people start to treat you.
The law of consumption
You become what you put into yourself. What you eat, what you read, what you watch and listen to, your thoughts, words and actions, and those of the people you surround yourself with are all constantly molding and remolding who you are. One study at a prominent university found that the annual income of an individual can be determined by averaging the incomes of the ten people that person spends the most time around. Does that scare you?
The law of the radius of will
This is the most abstract of the three laws. Your perception molds your reality. Not quantifiably, but subtly, over time, you will come to live as you believe you should, what you think you deserve is what you will give yourself. Quantum physics supports this, as do countless studies, as does the power of placeboes, as does the healing power of prayer. Look at the number of people who have had cancer go into remission or disappear entirely after having huge groups of people pray for them. Of course, those doing the praying would attribute this to God, but can that really be? I’m not talking about His existence or ability here, but rather his inclination. It seems to me that prayers of thanks are the only really appropriate prayers at all. What could be more prideful than praying to God to ask him to do something for you. “dear God, save my dad.” Does not God have a plan? Do you think he’s going to change it because you ask him to? Do you think he might need a reminder? Do you think there is some secret number of people or prayers you have to get before God will do what you want? Is it like getting a petition signed? Nothing so closely resembles the pride of Lucifer as the words of a prayer. But it works. Why? Because all those people focus their will on a goal, and that makes it happen, through collective priority, people always having it on the mind, through a support network trying to find answers and ways to help, through the positive influence and attitude knowing all these people are rooting for you has on a person, and very possibly through the as yet unexplainable way in which different frequencies of energy effect our environment.
Ninety percent of success
Stems from two things:
a positive, winning attitude
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persistency
Now before you just assume I can’t speak, persistency is the combination of persistence and consistency. Most people who never achieve success either have a negative attitude, never stick with anything, (being naturally gifted at a lot of things can be quite an obstacle, I’ve witnessed many people who are used to being so good at things naturally that they cannot come to grips with the idea of practice,) or cannot output sustained, consistent effort over a period of time.
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