Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Reality

Why believe a guru can do supernatural bad if the guru can’t do supernatural good?

We humans aren't purely rational beings. Sure, we have our moments of rationality. We also have our moments of irrationality. Both are part of being human. Emotions are a large part of our humanity, but in no way are love, hate, anger, sorrow, and such rational. Nor would we want them to be. Still.... Sometimes it amazes me when a person makes what seems to be a blatant failure of reason, or critical thinking. Understand: I've been that person myself, so I have direct experience of this. I also have indirect experience. Here's a recent example. During the 21 years…
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Posted inMindfulness Reality

Not-knowing is wise, because we know so much less than we think we know

Way back when, Garrison Keillor said about his fictional locale, Lake Woebegone, "all the children are above average." This reflects the neuroscientific fact that most people consider themselves to be better drivers than average, more loving and compassionate than average, and in general, above average in lots of areas. Which is mathematically impossible, of course. For every person above average, there has to be another person below average. This seems to also apply to the general notion of how much we know. Most of us, me certainly included, like to believe that we know a great deal about many things.…
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Posted inReality Science

Cause and effect may actually rule in the quantum realm, according to a fresh theoretical approach

There's something about a provocative unproven theory in physics that appeals to me much more than a provocative unproven theory in religion, mysticism, and spirituality in general. Probably it's because physicists approach a deeper understanding of reality from a solid factual foundation, while that isn't the case with religion, mysticism, and spirituality in general -- unless the new idea there is completely based on natural, rather than supernatural, notions. So when the November 29-December 5 issue of New Scientist appeared in my mailbox with the cover blaring The Quantum Leap -- A surprising twist on cause and effect reveals how…
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Posted inGod Reality Science

I critique how my 50 year old self thought about God from my 77 year old perspective

Recently I wrote, Here I am, once again plugging my "Science, Spirit, and the Wisdom of Not-Knowing" essay. I noted that since I wrote that essay around 1998, when I was still a believer of the Eastern religion variety, my views have changed a lot since then. Now I'm an atheist, so, yeah, that's a big change from believing in the possibility of knowing God. The past few days I've been reading the 24-page essay, as it had been a long time since I'd done this. Today I finished reading it, so figured this was a good time to critique…
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Posted inReality Religions Science

Maybe we humans are smart enough to ask ultimate questions, but not smart enough to answer them

Peter Zapffe was called "the bleakest philosopher of all time" in a Reddit post dealing with existentialism. That didn't make me eager to learn more about him. But I still wanted to, having come across several mentions of Zapffe in Robert Saltzman's book, Depending on no-thing. That title may sound depressing as well, but actually I feel energized when I read Saltzman's writings. While he rejects philosophical, metaphysical, and religious attempts to make life seem more appealing that it actually is, Saltzman's emphasis on direct experience of here and now is wonderfully simple. It's difficult, if not impossible, to question…
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Posted inAtheism Reality Science

Why keeping an open mind on the divine is a stupid idea

Sometimes intelligent people can say some really stupid things. I know this as an experiential fact, because I'm intelligent and I've said some really stupid things. In conversations. In books I've written. In my blog posts. When I do this, it's entirely fair for other people to criticize what I've said. That's why I feel equally justified in calling an essay in the Atlantic by Arthur C. Brooks, "Why You Should Keep an Open Mind on the Divine," a stupid idea. Brooks starts off by quoting Russian cosmonaut Gherman Titov, the second man to orbit the Earth: “Sometimes people are…
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Posted inMindfulness Reality

What if this here and now is our true home?

You know what's really strange? That the title of this blog post sounds strange to so many people. I mean, all those people, who once included myself, who consider that this world we're living in here and now actually isn't where we are supposed to be. That Other Place, that Mystical Destination, that Promised Land -- religions and philosophies disagree about what it consists of, but for billions of humans it is a real thing, a goal to be pursued. So Christians yearn for heaven, or the Second Coming here on Earth. Hindus hope that their eternal soul, Atman, will…
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Posted inReality Religions Science

Truth is so important, it must be defended with zeal (but not zealotry)

Today I had an interview with Ken Adams, the host of a show on KMUZ here in Salem, a community radio station. You can hear all about it in this link of the podcast, which appeared after the live broadcast was over. (Well, sort of live; Ken and I recorded it yesterday, because I don't function well at 8 am.) I'll also include the audio file directly, in case the link ever goes away. Our subject was the findings of an investigation into the misdeeds of the Salem Mayor, Julie Hoy. I filed a complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics…
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Posted inReality

While I’m glad this blog doesn’t have a fact-checker, the job is a vital one

Facts. The word is so appealing. Who doesn't love facts? Well, actually lots of people these days, notably including the president of the United States, plenty of politicians, and conspiracy theorists. I'd add religious believers, but I'm not sure how much we should expect from a religion when it comes to facts. After all, faith in things unseen is a hallmark of religiosity. It's impossible to fact check what can't be observed in any fashion. The check, though, can reveal an absence of a fact, not its wrongness. Still, I do my best to keep my blog posts as accurate…
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Posted inNeuroscience Reality

Where does reality come from?

We here at the Church of the Churchless don't shy away from asking Big Questions. No indeed, our problem isn't with questions, it's with answers. That's a much tougher proposition.  Nonetheless, I'm pretty confident that I can answer the question posed in the title of this blog post: Where does reality come from?  From you and me, along with every other person in the world. Reality isn't given to humans. Reality is produced by humans. Now, I'm not saying that we somehow have godlike powers of bringing the universe as a whole, and our planet in particular, into being. Nature…
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Posted inGod Reality

Reality always has the last word

It's difficult to encapsulate the essence of reality in just a few words. One reason is that reality, physical reality at least, isn't founded on words. Only human reality is. This human capability is what allows me to write this blog post and for you to read it. But my favorite adage about reality is Philip K. Dick's Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. I've praised this sentence quite a few times on this blog, as in a 2015 post, "Best statement about reality, in just thirteen words." In that post I shared…
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Posted inReality Science

If woo-woo is true, it’s scientific, so all woo-woo is based on faith

I haven't spent a lot of time in my life pondering the deeper meaning of woo-woo, but the word has come up on this blog recently, so I might as well dive into the murky woo-woo waters. Let's begin with a Google AI definition. The term "woo-woo" is used as an adjective and a noun to describe beliefs or practices that are considered unconventional, pseudoscientific, or based on irrational superstition. It is often used to dismiss or mock beliefs outside mainstream science or accepted norms, particularly in the areas of spirituality, mysticism, and alternative medicine.   Here's a breakdown of…
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Posted inReality Science

Intriguing idea: chain of causality comes to an end in quantum realm

We live in a world governed by causes and effects. Everywhere we look, this causes that, while that in turn causes something else. This determinism both enables science to be successful in explaining things, and allows we humans to navigate our daily life in a predictable fashion. The only exception appears to be in the realm of quantum mechanics. While there are disagreements among physicists about the meaning of quantum mechanics, the prevailing view is that probabilities rule in the realm of the very small. So in the case of an electron, for example, it is impossible to say where…
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Posted inMeaning of life Reality

This is a great scene in Netflix’s The Four Seasons about emotions and reality

Sometimes I get more meaning and wisdom from a short television scene than from a long book. That was the case last night when my wife and I finished watching The Four Seasons on Netflix, a streaming series (not to be confused with the 1981 romantic comedy with the same name). I can't avoid giving away an important happening in the final episode, so consider this a spoiler alert. It really isn't necessary to understand what The Four Seasons is all about to appreciate the dialogue in a scene that I thought was really well written and thought-provoking. But here's…
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Posted inReality Science

Quantum theory is still largely unexplained, but that’s how science works

Quantum theory (or quantum mechanics) is the foundation of our modern world. Without it, we wouldn't have computers, the Internet, GPS, and so many other inventions that we've come to take for granted.  I'm fascinated by quantum theory. Though it is generally associated with goings-on at the atomic and subatomic level, not at the level of everyday life, since everything is made up of particles and energy, obviously the existence of we humans and all that surrounds us is dependent on quantum processes. This is where much of the mystery of quantum theory resides: how is it that the uncertain,…
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Posted inDelusions Reality Spiritual practice/meditation

Doing Nothing — a book about ending the spiritual search

Back in 2013 I wrote a blog post about a book by Steven Harrison, Doing Nothing: Coming to the End of the Spiritual Search. I was pretty positive about the book in "Doing Nothing. Sounds like my kind of anti-religion," though I hadn't read it. Here's a tip for authors of books in the spirituality, religion, mysticism, and meditation genres: If you want readers to finish your book, don't include a mention of another title like "Doing Nothing: Coming to the End of the Spritual Search." I stopped reading during my pre-meditation quiet time when I came to that mention.…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus Reality Religions

Truth is religion’s weakness, no matter what Ross Douthat says in “Believe”

I've finished reading Ross Douthat's book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. He failed to make his case with me, because I'm still not religious. Not surprisingly, there were few discussions of truth in the book. This is religion's glaring weakness, no matter what faith appeals to you. The key question, how do we know it is true?, can't be answered persuasively by any religion, notably including Christianity (Douthat is proudly Catholic). So Douthat recommends what he calls "true'ish" belief. Basically this means that if you believe in some sort of divinity inhabiting some sort of supernatural realm, you're closer…
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Posted inBuddhism Reality

This is all there is, says David Chapman. But what is, is extraordinary.

David Chapman is a really interesting guy. I've followed his writings on Buddhism, artificial intelligence, and other subjects for quite a few years. Meaningness is his main web site, and well worth a look. Chapman describes his form of Buddhism this way: I am, somewhat reluctantly, a Buddhist. Of an odd sort: “the opposite of whatever you’d expect” comes close. That sort of Buddhism shares central themes with Meaningness. I explain it elsewhere: A window has recently opened for Buddhist innovations that can address new cultural, social, and personal problems. Vividness explores possible futures, based on Buddhism’s history and its…
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Posted inReality Religions Science

No, major religions don’t provide a truer picture of reality

It isn't surprising that, as an atheist, I find a lot not to like in Ross Douthat's book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. However, what does surprise me is how weak Douthat's arguments are.  For while I admire his clear writing style, as befits a New York Times opinion columnist, often he simply tosses off glib statements about the marvelousness of religious belief without backing them up with either solid facts or persuasive reasoning. Here's an example from the book's "Big Faiths and Big Questions" chapter, which argues that the world's major religions are a better bet than minor…
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Posted inBuddhism Reality Religions

Science is the best guide to spirituality

Some people believe that science is opposed to spirituality, that these pursuits operate in different realms of reality and an embrace of one implies a distancing from the other. I've never believed this. Even when I was in my most religious frame of mind, the 35 years I was an active member of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), an India-based religious organization headed up by a guru considered to be God in Human Form, I remained intensely interested in what science has learned about our universe even as I explored the possibility of realms beyond the physical. This is why…
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