Therefore, God and the gods are only convenient means–themselves of the nature of the world of names and form, though eloquent of, and ultimately conducive to, the ineffable. They are mere symbols to move and awaken the mind, and to call it past themselves. This recognition of the secondary nature of the personality of whatever deity is worshiped is characteristic of most of the traditions of the world. In Christianity, Mohammedanism, and Judaism, however, the personality of the divinity is taught to be final–which makes it comparatively difficult for the members of these communions to understand how one may go beyond the limitations of their own anthropomorphic divinity. The result has been, on the one hand, a general obfuscation of the symbols, and on the other, a god-ridden bigotry such as is unmatched elsewhere in the history of religion. For a discussion of the possible origin of this aberration, see Sigmund Freud, Moses and Monotheism (translated by James Strachey; Standard Edn. XXIII, 1964).
Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Fontana Press, 1993; pg. 258
As Yoda says in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:
The fear of loss is a path to the dark side. Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.
I tried to find Him on the Christian cross, but He was not there; I went to the Temple of the Hindus and to the old pagodas, but I could not find a trace of Him anywhere.
I searched on the mountains and in the valleys but neither in the heights nor in the depths was I able to find Him. I went to the Caaba in Mecca, but He was not there either.
I questioned the scholars and philosophers but He was beyond their understanding.
I then looked into my heart and it was there where He dwelled that I saw Him; He was nowhere else to be found.
Often misattributed to Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī.
Following a discussion about MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicators) I redid the What kind of thinker are you quiz.
Instead of the old score of musical thinker I now wound up with:
- Tend to think in words, and like to use language to express complex ideas.
- Are sensitive to the sounds and rhythms of words as well as their meanings.
Other Linguistic Thinkers include
William Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath, Anne Frank
Careers which suit Linguistic thinkers include
Journalist, Librarian, Salesperson, Proof-reader, Translator, Poet, Lyricist
- Like to spend time thinking about philosophical issues such as “What is the meaning of life?”
- Try to see beyond the ‘here and now’, and understand deeper meanings
- consider moral and ethical implications of problems as well as practical solutions
Other Existential Thinkers include
The Buddha, Gandhi, Plato, Socrates, Martin Luther King
Careers which suit Existential Thinkers include
Philosopher, Religious leader, Head of state, Artist, Writer
I’ve been quite busy with the paperwork for buying this newly built apartment. If all goes well it should be finished by August 2006. So that will mean looking at certain household gear for the new place to live in.
Always a nice pastime.
Currently pretty busy on getting everything sorted for my own house again. Got my eyes on a cute appartment. Talking with the real estate agent tomorrow.
And she knows I love her…
http://www.mountshastaecology.org/17other01cellphones.html and http://www.mapcruzin.com/radiofrequency/henry_lai2.htm detail a lot when it comes to effects of radiation.
Excerpts from Lai’s paper:
“As described in a later section, we found that a single episode of RFR exposure increases DNA damage in brain cells of the rat. Definitely, DNA damage in cells is cumulative. Related to this is that various lines of evidence suggest that responses of the central nervous system to RFR could be a stress response [Lai, 1992; Lai et al., 1987a]. Stress effects are well known to cumulate over time and involve first adaptation and then an eventual break down of homeostatic processes when the stress persists.'”For those who have questions on the possible health effects of exposure to radiation from cell masts, there are studies that show biological effects at very low intensities. The following are some examples: Kwee and Raskmark  reported changes in cell proliferation (division) at SARs of 0.000021- 0.0021 W/kg; Magnras and Xenos  reported a decrease in reproductive functions in mice exposed to RFR intensities of 160-1053 nW/square cm (the SAR was not calculated); Ray and Behari  reported a decrease in eating and drinking behavior in rats exposed to 0.0317 W/kg; Dutta et al.  reported changes in calcium metabolism in cells exposed to RFR at 0.05-0.005 W/kg; and Phillips et al.  observed DNA damage at 0.024-0.0024 W/kg. Most of the above studies investigated the effect of a single episode of RFR exposure. As regards exposure to cell mast radiation, chronic exposure becomes an important factor.”
“Lastly, I would like to briefly describe the experiments we carried out to investigate the effects of RFR on DNA in brain cells of the rat. We [Lai and Singh 1995, 1996; Lai et al., 1997] reported an increase in DNA single and double strand breaks, two forms of DNA damage, in brain cells of rats after exposure to RFR. DNA damage in cells could have an important implication on health because they are cumulative. Normally, DNA is capable of repairing itself efficiently. Through a homeostatic mechanism, cells maintain a delicate balance between spontaneous and induced DNA damage. DNA damage accumulates if such a balance is altered. Most cells have considerable ability to repair DNA strand breaks; for example, some cells can repair as many as 200,000 breaks in one hour. However, nerve cells have a low capability for DNA repair and DNA breaks could accumulate. Thus, the effect of RFR on DNA could conceivably be more significant on nerve cells than on other cell types of the body. Cumulative damages in DNA may in turn affect cell functions. DNA damage that accumulates in cells over a period of time may be the cause of slow onset diseases, such as cancer.”
Certain risk with certain jobs:
Borrowing the title from an online novel written by Sundroid that deals with the suffering of Tibetan exiles.
Edit 2007-05-19: Link is gone.