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I have no idea much of the time


markdohle

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I have no idea much of the time

(yet I do have my own answer)

I find it amazing how many people out there have the ‘answer’. The problem is there are so many of these ‘answers’ to life’s many puzzles. Living in a cultural where there is no one religion that is married to the state has its pluses. It also like anything else in this world, it has its underbelly. It would be a catastrophe if any one faith path or political party had the run of a country. Today because of news coverage we can see how that turns out. North Korea or China for political power going amuck, then the way some Muslim countries are controlled. Perhaps in the past it was needed, today it is only leading us closer to war, perhaps the big one. I see no way to get out of this very tight corner we have placed ourselves in. I believe in some ways the internet has actually made things worse. “Think -alike’’ groups… the web is full of them; usually if they are tight enough, can imbue themselves with infallibility as long as no one interferes with their delusion of having some corner on truth, or the ‘answer’. Both believers as well as atheist are guilty of this if they are ‘fundamental’ enough. Faith should never become an ideology, if it does it will suffocate from the weight of having to defend a world view that will die and so will any religion or philosophy or political system that becomes too closed in on itself.

Having a strong faith or strong philosophical or political beliefs is not the problem. The problem is when what one thinks or believes becomes some sort of prototype that others have to adapt to. It is of course an illusion; no one really fits into a prototype. People will adapt to belong to a group, but each person if they have any kind of self awareness will know that they divert from any party line that is put out there by those who want everyone to march to the same drummer. If no real self awareness is present, then they are what is called, being “brain-washed”. Perhaps we are all brain-washed, dried and pressed and starched to some degree. But at the same time, it is a process that most people fight on some level. We can use our religious, philosophical or political perspectives to actually lead us into greater freedom of thought. Not sure how common that is.

The term that ‘No man is an island’ is true. One day a man told me that he was self made, that all of what he believes is his alone without any outside influence. So I did agree with him up to a point and said so. I also pointed out that there was also his DNA, his family background, his education, culture, TV, books that he read, and also the time in history that he was born. So apart from that I did agree with him. If ones faith is not leading to deeper freedom of thought, opening the door to greater understanding of those around them then it is a prison, just like any other way of thinking or perceiving the world. Group think is safe and perhaps at times needed, but we all need time away, to think for ourselves, for if we do not we become clone like in our lives.

Pundits, be they religious, political or philosophical, can be so limited by their perspectives that they are unable to see any other way. Our perspectives are important, but they also limit. The only way to break away from these limitations at least in part, is to read, study, and if that can’t be done, to learn to at least listen from those who come from a different way of looking at the world. In other words, treat others as I want to be treated. Not always easy, for I am not always all that aware of myself…..I can run on automatic sort of like car idling in a parking lot. Engine running, but no one home.

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"Faith should never become an ideology" is a fine cautionary phrase. Unfortunately, too many times faith has been subsumed--or consumed--by ideology, and history has been the worse off for it. I agree wholeheartedly that we must break away from our limitations by reading, studying and dialogue. Walking with the supposed "other" is the best way to bridge the gaps we face in relation to others, and to discover we are all sisters and brothers. Thanks for the post.

Edited by DeWitz
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"Faith should never become an ideology" is a fine cautionary phrase. Unfortunately, too many times faith has been subsumed--or consumed--by ideology, and history has been the worse off for it. I agree wholeheartedly that we must break away from our limitations by reading, studying and dialogue. Walking with the supposed "other" is the best way to bridge the gaps we face in relation to others, and to discover we are all sisters and brothers. Thanks for the post.

Well said my friend, thanks for sharing.

peace

mark

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Some people, I think, need the comfort that ideology provides, come to think of it, maybe we all have our own unique ideology, whether it's inside or outside of the mainstream. We all need a framework to help us understand ourselves & our lives, the mistake is believing this framework actually is reality instead of a set of reference points. I have made this mistake many times, and expect I will continue to do so, as I continue to grow & learn.

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Some people, I think, need the comfort that ideology provides, come to think of it, maybe we all have our own unique ideology, whether it's inside or outside of the mainstream. We all need a framework to help us understand ourselves & our lives, the mistake is believing this framework actually is reality instead of a set of reference points. I have made this mistake many times, and expect I will continue to do so, as I continue to grow & learn.

We always need to learn, our mistakes are good teachers if we allow them to speak to us.

peace

mark

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Thank you for posting this mark. Very impressed with what you said and how you said it. :tu:

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I think religion is designed to not allow people to make mistakes and also it's there to answer any question that might come up.

I don't mind not knowing the answer to something. I think curiosity is a driving force in people and to curtail it is morally wrong. I never want to live within a group where I can't question anything and everything. I can see where it's necessary to teach by not allowing people to experience some mistakes, because some are life changing for other people and not always for the good.

Years ago, I did Schutzen training with my dog and in tracking, I was told to never let the dog go off course in training. Fortunately, I ended up with a trainer who trained for the AKC tracking title and her theory was that any dog, no matter how well trained, could go off the track in a test where they couldn't be guided. Her theory was that it was best to let the dog do that in training so he could learn to find the way back onto the track himself, so he would be able to that if such a situation ever came up. Aside from the sensible aspect of this, it also reinforced the fact that as trainers and handlers, we were working with the dog, instead of us being the master and making the dog work for us.

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I think religion is designed to not allow people to make mistakes and also it's there to answer any question that might come up.

I don't mind not knowing the answer to something. I think curiosity is a driving force in people and to curtail it is morally wrong. I never want to live within a group where I can't question anything and everything. I can see where it's necessary to teach by not allowing people to experience some mistakes, because some are life changing for other people and not always for the good.

Years ago, I did Schutzen training with my dog and in tracking, I was told to never let the dog go off course in training. Fortunately, I ended up with a trainer who trained for the AKC tracking title and her theory was that any dog, no matter how well trained, could go off the track in a test where they couldn't be guided. Her theory was that it was best to let the dog do that in training so he could learn to find the way back onto the track himself, so he would be able to that if such a situation ever came up. Aside from the sensible aspect of this, it also reinforced the fact that as trainers and handlers, we were working with the dog, instead of us being the master and making the dog work for us.

We have to think things through I believe. Though we can be carried by a group, which may be OK, until someone comes in who does question, then people get anxious. Anxiety is a part of life, important, all we need do is wait and things will settle and a new bigger paradigm will emerge and a deeper faith I believe.

peace

mark

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