Re: virus: More tangents on religion, etc. (prev. Demon Thread)

Reed Konsler (konsler@ascat.harvard.edu)
Sun, 28 Apr 1996 20:57:59 -0400


*****
Sun Apr 28 11:12am:
>Both excessive fatalism and rationality seem to leave me with that
distasteful gut feeling you mentioned earlier in your response. I would
guess from a TAOIST view changing the environment with human
consciousness is a most natural thing to do and very useful for
survival. It's the part after survival is over that begs for theory,
understanding or avoidance. Taoism or the hint of it that I have grown
to experience seems to be on the right track because it can be
integrated with my equally as vague understanding of the universe.

>Marc Connolly
*****

Yeah, I pretty much agree with the first line. I guess what I was reacting to
was the idea that "the universe is the way it is, don't try to change it, just
be." This sort of nihlism is the antithesis of the self. Evolution has gone
to all this trouble to create a species of beings capable of conciousness, of
imagination, of the ability to grab the environment by the throat and make it
dance to our whim.

Maybe it's a futile, but it's kinda fun...and it seems like such a waste to
expend all this energy feeding this organ in your head and then not doing
anything with it, you know? :)

I hesitate to admit this, but everytime I try to enter into a TAOIST frame of
mind I get very confused. My attention starts to meander around. Usually I
fall asleep. I hope this doesn't indicate a lack on my part. I've honestly
tried...maybe I'm just not doing it right. I've entered meditative trances
before, but only by focusing my concentration on a point in space or an idea.
I've listened to my heart beating and to the humming drone of the city on a
quiet night, but when I try to step out of my own perception...I'm at a loss.
There isn't anything there, and that isn't very interesting.

It reminds me of the sensory deprivation experiments during the 40s to 70s. If
you take someones body away from their mind they hallucinate, become paranoid,
go nuts...I think if you take the mind away from the body you get pretty much
the same thing.

Reed
konsler@ascat.harvard.edu