I've been thinking (I know I'm not supposed to, I do it anyway) a bit about the different kinds of enlightenment that I've seen in different philosophies and religions.
Being able to think for yourself
The Joke
The meaningless existence
Detatchement from the machine.
Admittence of a distorted reality view. (BIP)
A couple of these are new to me within the last month, others seem to be incorporated into dozens of religions and philosophies, and I'm starting to wonder, what else am I missing?
We Are All One.
Harm ye none
Do As Thou Will.
Stagnation is the Only Sin.
Sunlight?
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/RWHN/clientdiagramjpeg-1.jpg)
Things are uncertain at the most fundamental level
The universe is not only stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we can suppose (John Haldane)
If you think you understand, then you do not
Don't eat all the berries that birds eat or you will die (Jim Harrison)
Time is a thing. It bites. ("Wreckage of Agathon")
We are just trees that produce turds instead of apples. Your high horse is dead meat. (Jim Harrison again)
----
We could collaborate on a satirical book of aphorisms.
~~ Jack of Turnips
I'm not looking for specific ideas so much as entirely different ways of thinking.
There's the Western monotheistic "elightenment." Being perfectly in accord with God however he/she/it is defined.
Quote from: Golden Applesauce on March 15, 2008, 06:54:44 PM
There's the Western monotheistic "elightenment." Being perfectly in accord with God however he/she/it is defined.
Enlightenment for cabbages! :lulz:
When God gives you cabbages, make cabbage soup.
I think I'm wearing the apropriate avatar to suggest Deus Ex Machina.
Quote from: Requiem on March 15, 2008, 06:11:27 PM
I'm not looking for specific ideas so much as entirely different ways of thinking.
Given a shared reality, there are only so many divergencies of perception that can survive in practice.
With that in mind, I submit an expanded way of thinking of "whatever works" as valid.
If you believe in a god then that god exists.
If you don't believe in a god then that god doesn't exist.
These two views seem to be hellbent on annihilating each other.
If it's done right it can be funny as fuck.
I believe in encouraging both beliefs for this very reason.
Gimme 5,000 fundamentalist believers and 5,000 fervent athiests, a football field and 10,000 chainsaws - I'll give you prime time teevee at its fucking finest :evil:
Screw the 5000 on each side, I wanna see Richard Dawkins and Pat Robertson fight to the death with their bare hands.
The human body contains around eight pints of blood.
Why watch 16pints spilled when you could do 80,000.
Think spectacle. Think crowd pleaser. Think big!
A center recognizes a whole.
Good works really matter, especially in the afterlife.
Nice guys finish first.
True love conquers all.
Wait...I think my cynicism bone is itching, sorry.