Awakening
12 years ago
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Food..
Since I'm living on my own now, i think its time i start cooking. I've had an interest in food now for a while, so if any one could email me simple(r) recipes or some of their favorites that would be awesome! I really want to start learning how to cook. Keep in mind that i don't have an oven, but one of my neighbors does, its not a huge oven either, so yeah. Just email me at jhansen5@gonzaga.edu with any recipes! I'm hungry!! I'll be sure to post about my experience with the dish if you send me a recipe. Catch you later.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
And the world spins madly on...
Life flies by you in the blink of an eye, and if you don't treasure the present, all you have left is the memories of the past.
It was hardly yesterday when i was a worried about going to College and moving into the dorms. The day before that i was worried about leaving high school and going into Running Start, but now look at me. I'm living all the way across the world in, on my own, in an apartment with a man from Nepal.
Tonight is a cool and rainy night; the first since I arrived here. It allows for a mellow atmosphere to settle over the all too busy city life around, and permits you to indulge in your thoughts. So i did just that. I made myself a nice hot cup of coffee and walked out onto my wet balcony barefoot. I think we live in comfort too much. We become disconnected in a way to our environment and how powerful it is because we protect ourselves from it, we dominate our environment. I stood outside feeling the cold stone under my feet and it reminded me that i was alive.
Memories flooded into my mind of all the rainy nights I've shared with others in the past; with friends over a cup of tea, walks, puddle jumping, long drives, and sweet lovers under covers keeping each other warm laying arm in arm... by all figurative means.
Quite plainly here, i outline my intent for writing. Twas to say thank you, to all of those who have helped shape me into who i was, and who I'm becoming in the days and years to come. Thank you for the endless hours you worked, so i can be where i am today. Thank you for staying, and not giving up. Thank you for listening, when i needed to talk. Thank you for caring when i needed support. Thank you for getting to know me, for who i really am. Thank you, Thank you for being a part of me, and most of all, Thank you all for staying close to me. I really do cherish and love you guys dearly. I wish i could do more, to show all my gratitude. But I'm a man of limited means, so this will have to do (for now).
It was hardly yesterday when i was a worried about going to College and moving into the dorms. The day before that i was worried about leaving high school and going into Running Start, but now look at me. I'm living all the way across the world in, on my own, in an apartment with a man from Nepal.
Tonight is a cool and rainy night; the first since I arrived here. It allows for a mellow atmosphere to settle over the all too busy city life around, and permits you to indulge in your thoughts. So i did just that. I made myself a nice hot cup of coffee and walked out onto my wet balcony barefoot. I think we live in comfort too much. We become disconnected in a way to our environment and how powerful it is because we protect ourselves from it, we dominate our environment. I stood outside feeling the cold stone under my feet and it reminded me that i was alive.
Memories flooded into my mind of all the rainy nights I've shared with others in the past; with friends over a cup of tea, walks, puddle jumping, long drives, and sweet lovers under covers keeping each other warm laying arm in arm... by all figurative means.
Quite plainly here, i outline my intent for writing. Twas to say thank you, to all of those who have helped shape me into who i was, and who I'm becoming in the days and years to come. Thank you for the endless hours you worked, so i can be where i am today. Thank you for staying, and not giving up. Thank you for listening, when i needed to talk. Thank you for caring when i needed support. Thank you for getting to know me, for who i really am. Thank you, Thank you for being a part of me, and most of all, Thank you all for staying close to me. I really do cherish and love you guys dearly. I wish i could do more, to show all my gratitude. But I'm a man of limited means, so this will have to do (for now).
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Kinderdijk
This is the Kinderdijk! My second visit to a World Heritage Site! These windmills are fascinating, and they are centuries old! They use to be the way they drained the water from the land. It’s done so by moving the water up-hill and dumping it into the river which takes it back to the ocean. They have more modern equipment that does it now but this is how it use to work. The Dutch are really innovative thinkers. The University arranged this excursion which was really nice. We went on the Pancake boat (Panenkoekenboot) and had an amazing dinner of pancakes! Their pancakes here are really different, they had the option of 3 different types, apple, bacon, or plain. What you do is you have this thin pancake about the thickness of a tortilla with fruit cooked into it, or bacon, and you go through what appears to be a salad bar but it’s a pancake bar. There are different meats, cheeses, butters, spreads, chocolate, sprinkles, fruits, and about anything else you could put on a pancake! They eat them sort of like omelets, folding one side over and then cutting them into pieces. They are amazing! Never had such good pancakes. It’s funny because the Dutch are so happy and friendly and as one of my friends said, "You can tell they are so happy because the put sprinkles on everything!" Which is absolutely true! They have toast, but it’s really just bread and you can put this chocolate hazelnut spread over it and then chocolate sprinkles and honey, or you could stick with peanut butter and then chocolate and ect.. The options are limitless... It’s so much fun.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Generosity
The Dutch really know how to make you feel at home.
They have one of the best customs ever! I know in the states its common to ask someone if they would like something to drink but here, its obligatory! If you run into a mate in the hall or see someone on the balcony immediately you're invited for something to drink, and they give you a selection while they are at it! "Would you like kofee, tea, juice, or maybe water?" I love it! But the thing that is different here is they want you to have something to drink, you feel awkward if you don't take it! It is really cool because it allows for conversation and being social too. I think its a very friendly and nice way to make friends too. But this isn't only on a personal level in society. Businesses and companies, even the University offices give you coffee or tea if you're waiting. Just today i went to a bank to try and set up an account, and while i was waiting for a representative they told us to have a seat in the Koffee corner and help ourselves to cappuccinos or whatever we would like. Well in the Koffee corner they a coffee machine for you and cups. You can make yourself and espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, macciato, whatever! And the machine does it all for you, warms the milk, pours the shots, you only have to push a button!! I feel quite spoiled, hehe.
The Dutch hospitality doesn't end there however. I don't have an oven in my apartment so i cant bake anything. Well i mentioned it to my neighbor and they invited me over to cook in their oven, and in fact they'll buy and provide the food if only i cook it!!! What a deal! So tomorrow I'm going to the market and buying some salmon. I found a really nice recipe for this lemon garlic salmon and well actually my neighbor is going to buy all the food, but I'm going to cook it! I'm really liking this whole set a more than i thought i would! Anyways i gotta do some homework, ill post later.
They have one of the best customs ever! I know in the states its common to ask someone if they would like something to drink but here, its obligatory! If you run into a mate in the hall or see someone on the balcony immediately you're invited for something to drink, and they give you a selection while they are at it! "Would you like kofee, tea, juice, or maybe water?" I love it! But the thing that is different here is they want you to have something to drink, you feel awkward if you don't take it! It is really cool because it allows for conversation and being social too. I think its a very friendly and nice way to make friends too. But this isn't only on a personal level in society. Businesses and companies, even the University offices give you coffee or tea if you're waiting. Just today i went to a bank to try and set up an account, and while i was waiting for a representative they told us to have a seat in the Koffee corner and help ourselves to cappuccinos or whatever we would like. Well in the Koffee corner they a coffee machine for you and cups. You can make yourself and espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, macciato, whatever! And the machine does it all for you, warms the milk, pours the shots, you only have to push a button!! I feel quite spoiled, hehe.
The Dutch hospitality doesn't end there however. I don't have an oven in my apartment so i cant bake anything. Well i mentioned it to my neighbor and they invited me over to cook in their oven, and in fact they'll buy and provide the food if only i cook it!!! What a deal! So tomorrow I'm going to the market and buying some salmon. I found a really nice recipe for this lemon garlic salmon and well actually my neighbor is going to buy all the food, but I'm going to cook it! I'm really liking this whole set a more than i thought i would! Anyways i gotta do some homework, ill post later.
A Modest Proposal
So i've beeen thinking lately about how we live our lives. Its easier for me to examine the ways in which people run around in their daily lives because i am capable of comparing people from not noly different walks of life, but different cultures, different countries, and quite litterally a world away from our lives in America. Traveling is awesome, because it allows you to see the faults in yourself, the cultural biases that you personally have build up living in one place for too long. Your thoughts, beliefes, views and opinions need to be challenged and the most radical way to do so, is through personal experience and first hand accounts of other people and cultures. You cant meet a Mexican in the states and assume that they are all the same and act the same in Mexico, no its completely different. There is something about geograhy that really affects the views and actions of people, and i think it mainly comes down to cultures.
When looking at the world, I too often hear about everyones problems. May of these problems we feel just come with the busy pace of life we live in America, others think they need to do extra things to achieve a certain measure of grace, acceptance, or credibility in their lives, yet the thing is most of our "problems" i feel are created by the society we live in.
If we look at education for instance, the purpose of education is to educate people to be able to be cometent and competitive in this world, while preparing them for their own sustainability and future. I feel like everyone should have a right to be educated and that education is the means to freedom. However, so sadly in America i dont feel like the education system works, and i feel like we all agree to some sense with that statement. First off, i feel that there are clear inequalities within the way to achieve education. In order to go to college, you first have to get accepted and that would show that the univeristy thinks youre capable and competent to be in that Univeristy and you can succeed. However, the costs for college these days are rediculous. If youre not fortunate enough to have parents who have a disposible income to pay for your college expenses you need to apply for Finacial Aid and scholarships. While this might not be true for most people i have found when i go through scholarship listings there are many that have specific ethnic requirements or income requirements that a normal white middle class male simply cannot meet. There is a move in the Univeristy to produce diveristy and equal oppurtunity but this isnt the case, especially for me because when i look at scholarships i find maybe on that could atucally apply to me. So then i turn to finacial aid right. Well if your parents make a certain amount of income they are then "able" to give you the money you need to go to school. Thats not true however, i doubt most Americans could drop $18,000 on tuition for a single school year. So then you have to turn to the student loans to get help. You need to take out $24,000 to make ends meet with college expenses while you still are going to need to get a job to simply survive while in school.
So now youre in debt up to your ears and youre freashly graduated from the University. what to do now right? You need to either start paying off those loans if you havent already started while in school and get a good paying job, or you need to continue your education so that your loans can be further delayed until you can obtain a degree that will get you a high paying job.
Well i say that this way of doing "education" is not preparing individuals for their future or success. Its preparing young adults to be in debt to large companies for the rest of their lives and start consuming and living in the US while you pay those debts off because its an obligation you have when you take them out, you know, you need to pay them off. This is a problem. Americans are now in debt, the economy is doing bad, and as you can see with the housing market mad investments and risky loans get people, and countries, into trouble.
In Europe, their education system is set up differently. I met a girl from Germany who only needs to pay 97 Euro a year for school! I met two French people who are paying only 2,000 euros for the tuition here at Erasmus university. Not only are the tuition costs low, the government actually gives you a stipend here in Holland of about 800 Euros a semester to help with the costs of living so that students don't need to get jobs while working and they can study and focus on that. What i novel idea! Keep tuition costs low and give the students money while in school so that they are capable of living an easier life, debt free, and not have to work while in school so they can achieve higher marks and get educated. I personally know the effects of working while in school and not working while in school. My GPA dropped because my focus was split between school and work. They say over here that the government is investing in its own future by preparing its citizens the opportunity to educate themselves. It's such a logical way of doing things. Giving a young adult the freedom and ability to educate themselves without giving them debt that's going to negatively effect their future. They say if you work hard enough you can do anything in the States, but that's not true. People work incredibly hard and try to achieve so much and once they graduate they are hit with the debt and student loans so they need to get a job, they are placed back down into the working class society. Here, people are FREE to do what they want after school, they can take the time to look for a job that they will want, travel maybe and see the world. I find people to have much more of a degree of freedom over here than in the states.
I'm shocked to see that in our country where every man is born equal and freedom is one of the essential foundations of society, that only a tiny degree of people actually can achieve such freedom and "equality". Social classes divide the country and prevent the equality to truly show. There is an ideological issue within the States i feel that prevents people for truly caring for one another, and treating each other humanely and with dignity. Everyone is trying to achieve their own means to happiness and simply live, so why prevent anyone from doing that? Its not the intent with high costs to prevent and hinder the country but it is doing just that.
Its evident in our health care system too. You re only able to get the help and assistance you need if you are capable of paying for it, someone once told me. However, injuries and sickness are a fact of life. People age, they get sick, and they die. But only in a society where money has replaced the importance of caring for one another, can someone say that "I'm sorry you re sick and need to see a doctor, but you cant because you're not covered." The health care and insurance agencies in the States are absolutely ridiculous. I don't understand it. Why don't we take all the money we pay monthly for insurance and make that payment directly into our savings account and not touch it. Then when we needed to see the doctor we could pay for things that come up. Like things that normally come up such as wisdom teeth needing to be removed, pregnancies and vaccines. Here there is a compulsory and universal system where if you need any assistance what so ever, you can get it. Regardless of if you can pay or not. Ive been told time and time again by people over here that if i get sick that i should have a right to go to the doctor and get treatment. There is more of a communal care for your neighbor mentality over here and its remarkable.
People ask how are they capable of doing this? They say that they must have really high taxes over here, and yes on average their taxes are higher, but look at what they receive in return for it! Almost free education through the University, low cost, almost free health care. But here is this thing in the states that is different from over here. The rich get taxed more. Theoretically that works out great! The rich who can afford to get taxed, are taxed a little more than those who are poor and depend on every cent they make. They feel like its a moral obligation to give back to society because society has allowed them to get so well off. Look at it this way. You earn and spend your money from society and in society respectively. Your job is provided to you because there is some service that society needs, but you need services too. So you spend the money you make from your job and you give it back to society. You cannot have your wealth without society, therefore you have an obligation to provide for your society and ensure that its not going to fail, via taxes and if you want charity organizations, non-profits, and community service. You cannot remove yourself even a little from society, or else society won't work.
Can someone tell me the difference between a woman working 2 jobs trying to make ends meet while in school, or a family where both parent have to work full time in order to ensure their children will be able to grow up and live a comfortable lives, or a cashier at Wal-Mart working full time? Someone told me that a person working at Wal-Mart shouldn't get help because they aren't working as hard as they could, because they worked at Wal-Mart! Someone who works for minimum wage doesn't deserve help. The lower income people, those who don't have money to make ends meet, don't deserve to get help from someone? Why is that? They need the most help!
How can we as a society look at an individual and say that they don't have the same rights that we do because the color of their skin or the language they speak? How elitist are Americans to make people who are unfortunate second class citizens? There is no equality to the degree Americans think they have it. There is not equal opportunity within society, there are attempts at it, and noble are they, but there are still many barriers for every day citizens. If you're black, Latino, white, elderly, young, upper, middle, or lower class, gay, straight, male, female, religious, non-religious, Republican, Democrat, or Idependent, we're all citizens with the same rights. Lets recognize this.
When looking at the world, I too often hear about everyones problems. May of these problems we feel just come with the busy pace of life we live in America, others think they need to do extra things to achieve a certain measure of grace, acceptance, or credibility in their lives, yet the thing is most of our "problems" i feel are created by the society we live in.
If we look at education for instance, the purpose of education is to educate people to be able to be cometent and competitive in this world, while preparing them for their own sustainability and future. I feel like everyone should have a right to be educated and that education is the means to freedom. However, so sadly in America i dont feel like the education system works, and i feel like we all agree to some sense with that statement. First off, i feel that there are clear inequalities within the way to achieve education. In order to go to college, you first have to get accepted and that would show that the univeristy thinks youre capable and competent to be in that Univeristy and you can succeed. However, the costs for college these days are rediculous. If youre not fortunate enough to have parents who have a disposible income to pay for your college expenses you need to apply for Finacial Aid and scholarships. While this might not be true for most people i have found when i go through scholarship listings there are many that have specific ethnic requirements or income requirements that a normal white middle class male simply cannot meet. There is a move in the Univeristy to produce diveristy and equal oppurtunity but this isnt the case, especially for me because when i look at scholarships i find maybe on that could atucally apply to me. So then i turn to finacial aid right. Well if your parents make a certain amount of income they are then "able" to give you the money you need to go to school. Thats not true however, i doubt most Americans could drop $18,000 on tuition for a single school year. So then you have to turn to the student loans to get help. You need to take out $24,000 to make ends meet with college expenses while you still are going to need to get a job to simply survive while in school.
So now youre in debt up to your ears and youre freashly graduated from the University. what to do now right? You need to either start paying off those loans if you havent already started while in school and get a good paying job, or you need to continue your education so that your loans can be further delayed until you can obtain a degree that will get you a high paying job.
Well i say that this way of doing "education" is not preparing individuals for their future or success. Its preparing young adults to be in debt to large companies for the rest of their lives and start consuming and living in the US while you pay those debts off because its an obligation you have when you take them out, you know, you need to pay them off. This is a problem. Americans are now in debt, the economy is doing bad, and as you can see with the housing market mad investments and risky loans get people, and countries, into trouble.
In Europe, their education system is set up differently. I met a girl from Germany who only needs to pay 97 Euro a year for school! I met two French people who are paying only 2,000 euros for the tuition here at Erasmus university. Not only are the tuition costs low, the government actually gives you a stipend here in Holland of about 800 Euros a semester to help with the costs of living so that students don't need to get jobs while working and they can study and focus on that. What i novel idea! Keep tuition costs low and give the students money while in school so that they are capable of living an easier life, debt free, and not have to work while in school so they can achieve higher marks and get educated. I personally know the effects of working while in school and not working while in school. My GPA dropped because my focus was split between school and work. They say over here that the government is investing in its own future by preparing its citizens the opportunity to educate themselves. It's such a logical way of doing things. Giving a young adult the freedom and ability to educate themselves without giving them debt that's going to negatively effect their future. They say if you work hard enough you can do anything in the States, but that's not true. People work incredibly hard and try to achieve so much and once they graduate they are hit with the debt and student loans so they need to get a job, they are placed back down into the working class society. Here, people are FREE to do what they want after school, they can take the time to look for a job that they will want, travel maybe and see the world. I find people to have much more of a degree of freedom over here than in the states.
I'm shocked to see that in our country where every man is born equal and freedom is one of the essential foundations of society, that only a tiny degree of people actually can achieve such freedom and "equality". Social classes divide the country and prevent the equality to truly show. There is an ideological issue within the States i feel that prevents people for truly caring for one another, and treating each other humanely and with dignity. Everyone is trying to achieve their own means to happiness and simply live, so why prevent anyone from doing that? Its not the intent with high costs to prevent and hinder the country but it is doing just that.
Its evident in our health care system too. You re only able to get the help and assistance you need if you are capable of paying for it, someone once told me. However, injuries and sickness are a fact of life. People age, they get sick, and they die. But only in a society where money has replaced the importance of caring for one another, can someone say that "I'm sorry you re sick and need to see a doctor, but you cant because you're not covered." The health care and insurance agencies in the States are absolutely ridiculous. I don't understand it. Why don't we take all the money we pay monthly for insurance and make that payment directly into our savings account and not touch it. Then when we needed to see the doctor we could pay for things that come up. Like things that normally come up such as wisdom teeth needing to be removed, pregnancies and vaccines. Here there is a compulsory and universal system where if you need any assistance what so ever, you can get it. Regardless of if you can pay or not. Ive been told time and time again by people over here that if i get sick that i should have a right to go to the doctor and get treatment. There is more of a communal care for your neighbor mentality over here and its remarkable.
People ask how are they capable of doing this? They say that they must have really high taxes over here, and yes on average their taxes are higher, but look at what they receive in return for it! Almost free education through the University, low cost, almost free health care. But here is this thing in the states that is different from over here. The rich get taxed more. Theoretically that works out great! The rich who can afford to get taxed, are taxed a little more than those who are poor and depend on every cent they make. They feel like its a moral obligation to give back to society because society has allowed them to get so well off. Look at it this way. You earn and spend your money from society and in society respectively. Your job is provided to you because there is some service that society needs, but you need services too. So you spend the money you make from your job and you give it back to society. You cannot have your wealth without society, therefore you have an obligation to provide for your society and ensure that its not going to fail, via taxes and if you want charity organizations, non-profits, and community service. You cannot remove yourself even a little from society, or else society won't work.
Can someone tell me the difference between a woman working 2 jobs trying to make ends meet while in school, or a family where both parent have to work full time in order to ensure their children will be able to grow up and live a comfortable lives, or a cashier at Wal-Mart working full time? Someone told me that a person working at Wal-Mart shouldn't get help because they aren't working as hard as they could, because they worked at Wal-Mart! Someone who works for minimum wage doesn't deserve help. The lower income people, those who don't have money to make ends meet, don't deserve to get help from someone? Why is that? They need the most help!
How can we as a society look at an individual and say that they don't have the same rights that we do because the color of their skin or the language they speak? How elitist are Americans to make people who are unfortunate second class citizens? There is no equality to the degree Americans think they have it. There is not equal opportunity within society, there are attempts at it, and noble are they, but there are still many barriers for every day citizens. If you're black, Latino, white, elderly, young, upper, middle, or lower class, gay, straight, male, female, religious, non-religious, Republican, Democrat, or Idependent, we're all citizens with the same rights. Lets recognize this.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Ive always thought this has some value
So i figured i would post it. Its an interesting persepctive on things..
The Evolution of Religion and the Loss of Oneness
Friday, February 03, 2006 → by Danieru
In our semantically governed, symbolic understanding of reality we often maintain that true-identity is possible, that the whirling sensations called 'you' somehow cease at the surface of your skin, all else being distinct. Of course the Buddhist conception of reality has superseded this idea for millennia:
"According to the theory of emptiness, any belief in an objective reality grounded in the assumption of intrinsic, independent existence is untenable. All things and events, whether material, mental or even abstract concepts like time, are devoid of objective, independent existence. To possess such independent, intrinsic existence would imply that things and events are somehow complete unto themselves and are therefore entirely self-contained. This would mean that nothing has the capacity to interact with and exert influence on other phenomena.... In a universe of self-contained, inherently existing things, ...events would never occur." - The Dalai Lama, quoted from New Scientist
I am often struck by how quick Western science is to absolve humans of their natural status. In matters of religion, or more specifically, the evolution of religion, science tends to send me into a quiet rage. Yet the tides are beginning to turn:
"When we see a complex structure, we see it as the product of beliefs and goals and desires. Our social mode of understanding leaves it difficult for us to make sense of it any other way. Our gut feeling is that design requires a designer - a fact that is understandably exploited by those who argue against Darwin......Religious teachings certainly shape many of the specific beliefs we hold; nobody is born with the idea that the birthplace of humanity was the Garden of Eden, or that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception, or that martyrs will be rewarded with sexual access to scores of virgins. These ideas are learned. But the universal themes of religion are not learned. They emerge as accidental by-products of our mental systems. They are part of human nature." - Paul Bloom, "Is God an Accident?"
Paul Bloom is a proponent of 'the byproduct explanation' of religious evolution, which in simple terms claims:
"...religion is... an accidental byproduct of stuff that is part of human nature." Religion, in this account, didn't arise because it served any purpose, but because the human brain is amenable to certain supernatural ideas. - link
[see also 'Religion Explained' by Pascal Boyer]
Could it be said that from this perspective religion is just the model which human evolution built to understand an underlying, naturally occurring component of reality? For instance; in his study of neurological damage in his own patients V.S. Ramachandran often makes beautiful leaps of logic to assess his findings. His book Phantoms in the Brain is one of the most engrossing analyses of the human condition I have come across, and yet when religion rears its ugly head Ramachandran resorts to the glorification of it as a unique aspect of human evolution.
"Religion is a uniquely human trait..." - link
It is just my opinion, but this same error can be seen time and time again in the works of eminent scientists and philosophers of mind. But if one extends 'the byproduct explanation' of religion to its broadest horizons the seedling of nature can once again be seen protruding from the human mind. No one would argue that religion is not a response by the human brain to grasp a oneness with the universe, as the quote from The Dalai Lama above would suggest. Yet in matters of a scientific conception of religion the loose ends of logic continue to flap in the wind for me. Surely animals, with undoubtedly a lesser degree of mental capacity than us, have greater access to the universe in indefinable instinctive terms. Their minds do not need to rationalise desires, emotions, feelings of identity. Indeed for many creatures I would suggest these abilities would be a disadvantage to their survival (for more on this see my recent MetaTalk question here).I have no doubt that the various models ascribed to religious doctrine or spiritual union with creation are uniquely human traits - no animal has an evolutionary reason to have acquired such subjective nonsense. But I find it difficult to believe that the sense of oneness it takes Buddhist monks decades to attain; the rapturous glory the Christian gains from their union with Jesus; the mental infinity arising from the brain of the epilepsy sufferer are uniquely human. That oneness, rapture, seizure, hallucination - whatever you want to call it - is something that animal kind has full access to AT ALL TIMES! In rationalising the universe humanity had to lose its natural propensity with the cosmos. Evolution forged us a rational brain to perceive objective truths, and as a consequence we lost the ability to just be 'at one' with our surroundings. Religion then, and all other irrational systems of acquiring models of existence, are evolutions' mediocre attempts to cope with the infinite peace we lost.The universe is vast, incredible and awe inspiring for all the same reasons it ever was. It's just that with this brain, this perceptive reflexive consciousness, humanity is somehow unable to just accept that glory instinctively anymore.
When I was a few years younger I mourned this loss. In the religious, spiritual and social concepts I had come across in all my life nothing managed to build for me an understanding of reality I was happy with accepting. These days though I smile gleefully to myself. In the realms of physics, biology and philosophy broad vistas of objective glory stretch ahead of me. To each side of my remaining instinctive vision I catch glimpses of a reality so beautiful in its depth, its intricate infinities, that it took 13 billion years of gradual acquisition for anything to remotely come into focus.
The loss of that oneness is a small price to pay for the knowledge that the concept of God is nothing more than an echo of laughter rebounding in the depths of reflexive consciousness. Religion and the spiritual mind are for me mere evolutionary idiosyncrasies that nature has not yet had time to fully be rid off. Never fear that your existence is meaningless, for in this infinite universe you are the evolutionary pinnacle of a glory yet to be fully realised...
The Evolution of Religion and the Loss of Oneness
Friday, February 03, 2006 → by Danieru
In our semantically governed, symbolic understanding of reality we often maintain that true-identity is possible, that the whirling sensations called 'you' somehow cease at the surface of your skin, all else being distinct. Of course the Buddhist conception of reality has superseded this idea for millennia:
"According to the theory of emptiness, any belief in an objective reality grounded in the assumption of intrinsic, independent existence is untenable. All things and events, whether material, mental or even abstract concepts like time, are devoid of objective, independent existence. To possess such independent, intrinsic existence would imply that things and events are somehow complete unto themselves and are therefore entirely self-contained. This would mean that nothing has the capacity to interact with and exert influence on other phenomena.... In a universe of self-contained, inherently existing things, ...events would never occur." - The Dalai Lama, quoted from New Scientist
I am often struck by how quick Western science is to absolve humans of their natural status. In matters of religion, or more specifically, the evolution of religion, science tends to send me into a quiet rage. Yet the tides are beginning to turn:
"When we see a complex structure, we see it as the product of beliefs and goals and desires. Our social mode of understanding leaves it difficult for us to make sense of it any other way. Our gut feeling is that design requires a designer - a fact that is understandably exploited by those who argue against Darwin......Religious teachings certainly shape many of the specific beliefs we hold; nobody is born with the idea that the birthplace of humanity was the Garden of Eden, or that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception, or that martyrs will be rewarded with sexual access to scores of virgins. These ideas are learned. But the universal themes of religion are not learned. They emerge as accidental by-products of our mental systems. They are part of human nature." - Paul Bloom, "Is God an Accident?"
Paul Bloom is a proponent of 'the byproduct explanation' of religious evolution, which in simple terms claims:
"...religion is... an accidental byproduct of stuff that is part of human nature." Religion, in this account, didn't arise because it served any purpose, but because the human brain is amenable to certain supernatural ideas. - link
[see also 'Religion Explained' by Pascal Boyer]
Could it be said that from this perspective religion is just the model which human evolution built to understand an underlying, naturally occurring component of reality? For instance; in his study of neurological damage in his own patients V.S. Ramachandran often makes beautiful leaps of logic to assess his findings. His book Phantoms in the Brain is one of the most engrossing analyses of the human condition I have come across, and yet when religion rears its ugly head Ramachandran resorts to the glorification of it as a unique aspect of human evolution.
"Religion is a uniquely human trait..." - link
It is just my opinion, but this same error can be seen time and time again in the works of eminent scientists and philosophers of mind. But if one extends 'the byproduct explanation' of religion to its broadest horizons the seedling of nature can once again be seen protruding from the human mind. No one would argue that religion is not a response by the human brain to grasp a oneness with the universe, as the quote from The Dalai Lama above would suggest. Yet in matters of a scientific conception of religion the loose ends of logic continue to flap in the wind for me. Surely animals, with undoubtedly a lesser degree of mental capacity than us, have greater access to the universe in indefinable instinctive terms. Their minds do not need to rationalise desires, emotions, feelings of identity. Indeed for many creatures I would suggest these abilities would be a disadvantage to their survival (for more on this see my recent MetaTalk question here).I have no doubt that the various models ascribed to religious doctrine or spiritual union with creation are uniquely human traits - no animal has an evolutionary reason to have acquired such subjective nonsense. But I find it difficult to believe that the sense of oneness it takes Buddhist monks decades to attain; the rapturous glory the Christian gains from their union with Jesus; the mental infinity arising from the brain of the epilepsy sufferer are uniquely human. That oneness, rapture, seizure, hallucination - whatever you want to call it - is something that animal kind has full access to AT ALL TIMES! In rationalising the universe humanity had to lose its natural propensity with the cosmos. Evolution forged us a rational brain to perceive objective truths, and as a consequence we lost the ability to just be 'at one' with our surroundings. Religion then, and all other irrational systems of acquiring models of existence, are evolutions' mediocre attempts to cope with the infinite peace we lost.The universe is vast, incredible and awe inspiring for all the same reasons it ever was. It's just that with this brain, this perceptive reflexive consciousness, humanity is somehow unable to just accept that glory instinctively anymore.
When I was a few years younger I mourned this loss. In the religious, spiritual and social concepts I had come across in all my life nothing managed to build for me an understanding of reality I was happy with accepting. These days though I smile gleefully to myself. In the realms of physics, biology and philosophy broad vistas of objective glory stretch ahead of me. To each side of my remaining instinctive vision I catch glimpses of a reality so beautiful in its depth, its intricate infinities, that it took 13 billion years of gradual acquisition for anything to remotely come into focus.
The loss of that oneness is a small price to pay for the knowledge that the concept of God is nothing more than an echo of laughter rebounding in the depths of reflexive consciousness. Religion and the spiritual mind are for me mere evolutionary idiosyncrasies that nature has not yet had time to fully be rid off. Never fear that your existence is meaningless, for in this infinite universe you are the evolutionary pinnacle of a glory yet to be fully realised...
Sit back for the ride
Well I’m really enjoying myself today. I woke up around 7:30 this morning which actually was late. I was supposed to wake up around 7 and pick up my friend from Austria, named Andria, so that we could go to the market. Well I set my alarm but I forgot to turn it on! So I woke up late and took a quick shower. We were able to get out of the apartments around 8.
The city was absolutely dead on a Saturday morning which I found to be interesting. For being one of the largest ports in the world it was absolutely dead! We were headed to the huge market that’s suppose to be open at 8 in the morning on Saturdays and Tuesdays but from the looks of it everything was going to be closed for a while. The market is called Blaak market, it’s on Blaak straat (street). We walked around for a little bit and found some bikes that were there for around 65 Euros and up. That’s a little more expensive that what I want to pay for a bike but still on the cheap end over here.
We decided we were going to go grab a café before heading down to the Spido yacht tours of the harbors that the university set up for international students. The coffee was pretty good and surprisingly the only thing open!
We finally got down to the water around 9:45 and everyone from the university was there which was nice to see friendly faces again. The yacht had indoor seating around tables and I was one of the first people on so I claimed the table at the front with the view all around. The ride was from 10-2 with lunch and drinks for free! It was amazing. Sitting back and watching the harbor and all the massive boats in town for the World Harbor Days festival while sipping on a glass of wine is simply wonderful. Its interesting how the university over here not only is accepting of drinking alcohol but they actually provide it! I guess it’s a cultural thing, but boy is it really pleasant. The ride around the harbor was really nice and I found out that the lowest point under sea level is 23.5 meters which is about what, 70.5 ft under sea level?! That was just probably about 5 mile from my apartment too. It’s quite impressive that the Dutch were able to dominate the sea and have pump systems that allow them to build at such depths below the sea level right on the coast. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for no big storms or floods!
I wore really warm clothes on the boat because I figured that we would be outside and cold going through the harbor because it’s been cloudy and raining for the past 6 days. Well I was wrong, the sky cleared up and it’s just simply a beautiful day out right now. Has to be around 80 right now and there are a few clouds in the sky. I dropped back by the market and picked up some fruit for really cheap! Now I’m just sitting on my bed sun tanning. My apartment is perfectly situated for the sun to flow right into my huge 6 ft windows that line one side of my room. I opened the blinds and just started tanning in my underwear lying on my bed. It’s so nice and warm. I’m letting the breeze come in through the open windows while the soundtrack of Amelie is playing in the background! This is the life, I love simple pleasures!
The city was absolutely dead on a Saturday morning which I found to be interesting. For being one of the largest ports in the world it was absolutely dead! We were headed to the huge market that’s suppose to be open at 8 in the morning on Saturdays and Tuesdays but from the looks of it everything was going to be closed for a while. The market is called Blaak market, it’s on Blaak straat (street). We walked around for a little bit and found some bikes that were there for around 65 Euros and up. That’s a little more expensive that what I want to pay for a bike but still on the cheap end over here.
We decided we were going to go grab a café before heading down to the Spido yacht tours of the harbors that the university set up for international students. The coffee was pretty good and surprisingly the only thing open!
We finally got down to the water around 9:45 and everyone from the university was there which was nice to see friendly faces again. The yacht had indoor seating around tables and I was one of the first people on so I claimed the table at the front with the view all around. The ride was from 10-2 with lunch and drinks for free! It was amazing. Sitting back and watching the harbor and all the massive boats in town for the World Harbor Days festival while sipping on a glass of wine is simply wonderful. Its interesting how the university over here not only is accepting of drinking alcohol but they actually provide it! I guess it’s a cultural thing, but boy is it really pleasant. The ride around the harbor was really nice and I found out that the lowest point under sea level is 23.5 meters which is about what, 70.5 ft under sea level?! That was just probably about 5 mile from my apartment too. It’s quite impressive that the Dutch were able to dominate the sea and have pump systems that allow them to build at such depths below the sea level right on the coast. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for no big storms or floods!
I wore really warm clothes on the boat because I figured that we would be outside and cold going through the harbor because it’s been cloudy and raining for the past 6 days. Well I was wrong, the sky cleared up and it’s just simply a beautiful day out right now. Has to be around 80 right now and there are a few clouds in the sky. I dropped back by the market and picked up some fruit for really cheap! Now I’m just sitting on my bed sun tanning. My apartment is perfectly situated for the sun to flow right into my huge 6 ft windows that line one side of my room. I opened the blinds and just started tanning in my underwear lying on my bed. It’s so nice and warm. I’m letting the breeze come in through the open windows while the soundtrack of Amelie is playing in the background! This is the life, I love simple pleasures!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Apartment life
I think I liked the silence better...
My neighbors I assume got home a little over an hour ago and they have not stopped blasting or singing rap for the last hour! Rap none the less, and bad, bad rap at that, it’s like the low grade R&B and Timberland that you'd expect find in a 1980's store or something. I even hear them singing to it, god! They're singing!
Yes!! A little relief, the cd is skipping now... ah silence...
Think again, Buddhi, my roommate, just started blasting what sounds like 1980's "I dream of Jennie" Nepali theme music... so much for solitude
Now Buddhi is playing with his new phone figuring out ringtones... great.
My neighbors I assume got home a little over an hour ago and they have not stopped blasting or singing rap for the last hour! Rap none the less, and bad, bad rap at that, it’s like the low grade R&B and Timberland that you'd expect find in a 1980's store or something. I even hear them singing to it, god! They're singing!
Yes!! A little relief, the cd is skipping now... ah silence...
Think again, Buddhi, my roommate, just started blasting what sounds like 1980's "I dream of Jennie" Nepali theme music... so much for solitude
Now Buddhi is playing with his new phone figuring out ringtones... great.
Underneath it all...
Rotterdam oh Rotterdam,
It really nice over here, there is the city, the parks, the university, and the pubs. I really love it. But there is something missing. When all slows down at the end of the day, and the stillness of the world settles in on the plaster white walls of an empty apartment, and silence engulfs the surroundings, there is still something missing.
The vast distances that span the world and separate loved ones are unbearable at times. They create times of trial; they challenge our integrity, and bring a certain solitude and loneliness into our lives which are otherwise often over burdened with others. This new found loneliness is malevolent, stealing from the joy of simple living and creating a vast abyss of isolation that one could easily fall into. In the wilderness of a jungle city like Rotterdam, when all falls silent and all you hear is your typing away at the keyboard in a white wall apartment, the feeling of impermanence rises as I continue to type away my feelings onto a screen. This impermanence represents not only the amount of time I’ll be staying here, or the fact that when I get back home things will inevitably be different. This impermanence represents my emotions too; a minor wave of feeling in a sea full of white caps and vessels floating about. As surly the tide comes in and out, so my despair of falling into the abyss.
Typing this all out reminds me of a Buddhist principle of impermanence and especially their doctrine of dealing with emotions. Don’t quote me, but Buddhist follow a middle path, that between the extreme of emotion and the emotionlessness of not caring. The middle path between Hedonism and Asceticism leads for an examined life, and one that you're capable of controlling. Emotions are healthy if only examined for the reasons why you have them. My loneliness is that of absence and withdrawal, not of self pity or self deprivation. I’m in a privileged position studying in such an amazing place and having the support that I do. So I guess I want to just simply thank you. I look forward to coming home.
It really nice over here, there is the city, the parks, the university, and the pubs. I really love it. But there is something missing. When all slows down at the end of the day, and the stillness of the world settles in on the plaster white walls of an empty apartment, and silence engulfs the surroundings, there is still something missing.
The vast distances that span the world and separate loved ones are unbearable at times. They create times of trial; they challenge our integrity, and bring a certain solitude and loneliness into our lives which are otherwise often over burdened with others. This new found loneliness is malevolent, stealing from the joy of simple living and creating a vast abyss of isolation that one could easily fall into. In the wilderness of a jungle city like Rotterdam, when all falls silent and all you hear is your typing away at the keyboard in a white wall apartment, the feeling of impermanence rises as I continue to type away my feelings onto a screen. This impermanence represents not only the amount of time I’ll be staying here, or the fact that when I get back home things will inevitably be different. This impermanence represents my emotions too; a minor wave of feeling in a sea full of white caps and vessels floating about. As surly the tide comes in and out, so my despair of falling into the abyss.
Typing this all out reminds me of a Buddhist principle of impermanence and especially their doctrine of dealing with emotions. Don’t quote me, but Buddhist follow a middle path, that between the extreme of emotion and the emotionlessness of not caring. The middle path between Hedonism and Asceticism leads for an examined life, and one that you're capable of controlling. Emotions are healthy if only examined for the reasons why you have them. My loneliness is that of absence and withdrawal, not of self pity or self deprivation. I’m in a privileged position studying in such an amazing place and having the support that I do. So I guess I want to just simply thank you. I look forward to coming home.
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