Posted inMorality Science

Without magical thinking, the American flag is just a piece of cloth

Recently KGW, a Portland (Oregon) television station, had a story about a military veteran who was intensely distraught when some people protesting Trump's inauguration burned the American flag.  Eric Post, who served in the Marines, made an emotional Facebook video that's been viewed over 2.5 million times. His basic argument is that anyone who burns the flag doesn't believe in American ideals, doesn't respect the sacrifices of soldiers, and is a coward.  Of course, flag burners look upon themselves differently. They consider themselves patriots. They view flag-burning as free speech protected by the Constitution, which the Supreme Court has ruled…
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Posted inReality Science

Reality is a terrible thing to waste — yet religions and politicians do

What is real? This is one of the most important questions. I've grappled with it for my entire adult life.  The basic problem I or anyone else faces in answering that question is that we humans are subjective beings who exist in an objective world.  So subjectivity and objectivity are intermingled in everything we do, which includes grappling with the nature of reality. Wisdom, in my admittedly subjective opinion, largely lies in recognizing the difference between "I believe," "I feel," and similar I-based views, and "It is true that..." The latter sort of statement refers to an intersubjective reality, which…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

HBOs “The Young Pope” reminds me of some Indian gurus

Last night my wife, Laurel, and I watched the first episode of the HBO series, The Young Pope. It was weirdly realistic while also being strangely fantastical. The official trailer will give you a feel for the Young Pope, masterfully played by Jude Law. Laurel, being a retired psychotherapist, didn't have any trouble diagnosing the newly elevated Pope Pius XIII: psychopath. The Young Pope is controlling, manipulative, hypocritical, and charismatic. In other words, he is like lots of other religious leaders in both the West and East. They prey on the misguided faith of their followers. They profit from being…
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Posted inBooks Vedanta/Advaita

Osho on how life is purposeless (a good thing!)

A few days ago somebody emailed me a document about how life is purposeless, since I'd recently blogged about "The joy of living in a meaningless world." They weren't sure who had written the piece, but thought it was Osho (previously known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). They were right. I found this out via a Scribd file, which I've copied in below.  I like what Osho says. I agree with almost everything in the piece, which is an excerpt from a book he wrote, "Vedanta: Seven Steps to Samadhi." Because it is about 3,000 words long, and some people may not…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Spiritual practice/meditation

The joy of living in a meaningless world

The deeper I dive into atheism, the more blissful those warm waters of faithlessness seem. Which is a big change from my early non-believing years, when I often felt that something important was missing from my life. That something was a built-in, ready-made, out-there-to-be-discovered meaning of existence. A spiritual shoulder to lean on, a cosmic compass to guide my way, an uplifting understanding of dependable solid ground lying beneath the shifting sands of everyday experience. Even after I'd given up a belief in God or any other obviously supernatural entity, I had a lingering feeling that is difficult to put…
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