I graduated high school in 1983. I graduated from the third high school I attended. And for thirty years I resented my parents for making me go to three high schools. My unforgiving spirit didn't hurt them, it hurt me.
This morning in meditation the thought came to me: "Who hangs out with there high school buddies thirty years on?" Seriously, most people have moved on. Many are glad they are no longer connected to their high schools. So I, like everyone else, would have drifted away from high school anyway. I would have gone away to college anyway. I would have found new friends anyway. The grudge against my parents only slowed me down.
I wish I had practiced forgiveness earlier. It is for us, not the offender. There is a freedom in forgiveness like dropping unneeded weight. So I need more practice at forgiveness and I need to practice more forgiveness.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Philosophy First
I want to jot down some rough ideas on why I have chosen "Philosophy First" as my affirmation-theme-motto for this year.
First of all I think philosophy will help me more than religion and psychology will. I still value those two subjects, but I think there is a greater benefit to the study of philosophy. For instance, logic can help determine bad elements of religion and psychology.
Secondly, philosophy is a perch by which I can study whatever I want to study. And perhaps take a more reasoned approach to my studies. Philosophy has a deep history of parenting subjects and being a foster parent to others.
Thirdly, adopting a philosophy that is right for you will help you go through life. I now consider myself a moderate egoist. That means my first consideration is myself. It doesn't mean that my only or last consideration is myself. It means I think about myself and then factor everyone and everything else in. Of course I want my philosophy to be open and growing.
So those are reasons why I chose to go back to my philosophic roots. I see philosophy as a tree. It has heartwood principles that do not change, branches that are ever growing, and leaves that drop as needed. So philosophy first it is.
First of all I think philosophy will help me more than religion and psychology will. I still value those two subjects, but I think there is a greater benefit to the study of philosophy. For instance, logic can help determine bad elements of religion and psychology.
Secondly, philosophy is a perch by which I can study whatever I want to study. And perhaps take a more reasoned approach to my studies. Philosophy has a deep history of parenting subjects and being a foster parent to others.
Thirdly, adopting a philosophy that is right for you will help you go through life. I now consider myself a moderate egoist. That means my first consideration is myself. It doesn't mean that my only or last consideration is myself. It means I think about myself and then factor everyone and everything else in. Of course I want my philosophy to be open and growing.
So those are reasons why I chose to go back to my philosophic roots. I see philosophy as a tree. It has heartwood principles that do not change, branches that are ever growing, and leaves that drop as needed. So philosophy first it is.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Are Syrians my Brothers?
This Syria business had me perplexed. For evil to triumph all we have to do is nothing. And many of us want to do nothing. And evil seemingly is triumphant in Syria. A genocide in its first stages. We are still dealing with borders established by Britain in the wake of WWI. People who hate each other are forced to live together.
Obviously I think the Syrians are our brothers and sisters. And obviously we have the duty to help. Because we value human life now. And because we were part of the problem then. And if we don't do something the evil will track us down. The Axis powers came after us. We ignored Osama Bin Laden. And he came after us. So what to do?
Diplomacy, sanctions, education have all failed. The carrot of diplomacy means nothing without the stick of the military to back up. So now we have to back it up. I support bombing sorties. To take out vital military, transportation, communication, and energy infrastructure. Victory doesn't always mean killing the criminal. Sometimes it means putting the criminal in prison. A prison we could name Damascus. House arrest, if you will. Give Assad some time to think about his past decisions and his future.
Will it work? I think it will. We bombed Libya and that helped. And if we can save one village from another sarin attack, I think it will be worth it. We have done nothing and that hasn't worked. So let's do something, for Syria's children and essentially for our children.
Obviously I think the Syrians are our brothers and sisters. And obviously we have the duty to help. Because we value human life now. And because we were part of the problem then. And if we don't do something the evil will track us down. The Axis powers came after us. We ignored Osama Bin Laden. And he came after us. So what to do?
Diplomacy, sanctions, education have all failed. The carrot of diplomacy means nothing without the stick of the military to back up. So now we have to back it up. I support bombing sorties. To take out vital military, transportation, communication, and energy infrastructure. Victory doesn't always mean killing the criminal. Sometimes it means putting the criminal in prison. A prison we could name Damascus. House arrest, if you will. Give Assad some time to think about his past decisions and his future.
Will it work? I think it will. We bombed Libya and that helped. And if we can save one village from another sarin attack, I think it will be worth it. We have done nothing and that hasn't worked. So let's do something, for Syria's children and essentially for our children.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Book Review: "The Virtue of Selfishness", by Ayn Rand
I have been studying a lot about individualism or egoism if you prefer. There is no better author to start with than Ayn Rand. She wrote several books on Rational Individualism or Objectivism as she called it. This is a review of one of her easy reads.
The "Virtue of Selfishness" is a collection of essays written by her and her one time colleague Nathaniel Branden. It is a primer basically on what she believed and taught. Her philosophy of living. It can be summed up in two words "Me First." Me first doesn't mean "Me Only" One of her slogans is "Think, produce." So it is egoism prompted and supported by rational thought. Take care of and support number one. And it doesn't negate charity. Just that you think about your giving and its ramifications. And maybe remember that charity begins at home. The best chapter to read is the first chapter. It is a great summation of her belief system.
Things I like about this book. I like the brevity and simplicity of this work. It can help you get a handle on her ideas fast. Unlike the beastly tomes "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead". I own both of those and have not been able to finish reading either of them. I don't like her defense of herself. She says don't attack me if you don't like my system. She couldn't live up to her ideals. She supported her alcoholic husband. Where was his rational egoism? So, to me. a philosophy of life you can't live up to is a philosophy of life not worth sharing.
All in all, this is a book worth reading at least once. It is worth reading because her ideas have inspired at least two movements, and also because she has many admirers even today. I give it four our of five stars. So read it, think about it and then perhaps develop you own philosophy of life. Ayn Rand would approve of that.
The "Virtue of Selfishness" is a collection of essays written by her and her one time colleague Nathaniel Branden. It is a primer basically on what she believed and taught. Her philosophy of living. It can be summed up in two words "Me First." Me first doesn't mean "Me Only" One of her slogans is "Think, produce." So it is egoism prompted and supported by rational thought. Take care of and support number one. And it doesn't negate charity. Just that you think about your giving and its ramifications. And maybe remember that charity begins at home. The best chapter to read is the first chapter. It is a great summation of her belief system.
Things I like about this book. I like the brevity and simplicity of this work. It can help you get a handle on her ideas fast. Unlike the beastly tomes "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead". I own both of those and have not been able to finish reading either of them. I don't like her defense of herself. She says don't attack me if you don't like my system. She couldn't live up to her ideals. She supported her alcoholic husband. Where was his rational egoism? So, to me. a philosophy of life you can't live up to is a philosophy of life not worth sharing.
All in all, this is a book worth reading at least once. It is worth reading because her ideas have inspired at least two movements, and also because she has many admirers even today. I give it four our of five stars. So read it, think about it and then perhaps develop you own philosophy of life. Ayn Rand would approve of that.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Book Review: "Jesus on Mars"
What happened to Jesus when he left Earth? The Sci-Fi wizard, Philip Jose Farmer, gives us some ideas. For many of you this will be the third testament of the Bible you have been looking for. For the rest of you it will just be an entertaining read.
I don't want to give too much away. The book starts out with four people going on a quest. It kind of sounds like the B movie "The Wizard of Mars" or the "Wizard of Oz." They find what they are looking for and more. Jesus actually lives in Mars, thanks to technology and luck. And Jesus decides to return to Earth which is when the fun begins.
I like how Farber tries to explain the Christ via science fiction. In other words, there may be plausible explanations for the miracles and such. I like the pace of the book and how the author fleshes out his characters bit by bit.
The book is a little dated. It was written in 1980. The author anticipates alot of what actually happens. He doesn't foresee a Unified Germany. Or a fallen Soviet Union. But other than that I find little to dislike.
So this is a very good book. I give it 4 stars out of 5. The ending will blow you away. Unless of course you are standing next to Jesus. Then you won't be blown away for long. But I digress.
I don't want to give too much away. The book starts out with four people going on a quest. It kind of sounds like the B movie "The Wizard of Mars" or the "Wizard of Oz." They find what they are looking for and more. Jesus actually lives in Mars, thanks to technology and luck. And Jesus decides to return to Earth which is when the fun begins.
I like how Farber tries to explain the Christ via science fiction. In other words, there may be plausible explanations for the miracles and such. I like the pace of the book and how the author fleshes out his characters bit by bit.
The book is a little dated. It was written in 1980. The author anticipates alot of what actually happens. He doesn't foresee a Unified Germany. Or a fallen Soviet Union. But other than that I find little to dislike.
So this is a very good book. I give it 4 stars out of 5. The ending will blow you away. Unless of course you are standing next to Jesus. Then you won't be blown away for long. But I digress.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Self-Engineering
I have been reading a book on Engineering. It is called Foundations of Engineering by Holtzapple and Reece. It is the second book on engineering that I have read. The first one was maybe 10 years ago. I started studying engineering because I wanted to know about trouble shooting and problem solving. There were no really good books about those things. But there were engineering books.
The authors of this book define an engineer as an individual who uses math, science, and economics to solve technical problems that confront society. An engineer is a problem solver. Now math, science, and economics were the three subjects I disliked the most in school. Yet these are the disciplines that solve problems.
The main tool of engineering is something called the design method. It has ten steps. 1. Identify and define the problem. 2. Assemble a design team. 3. Identify constraints and criteria for success. 4. Search for solutions. 5. Analyze each potential solution. 6. Choose the best solution. 7. Document the solution. 8. Communicate the solution to management. 9. Construct the solution. 10. Verify and evaluate the performance of the solution. Sounds like a recipe for life and it is. These are the steps some of us take to fashion a life worth having.
Then the authors talk about the traits of a successful engineer. There are 16 and these are listed on pages 24 and 25. They sound like the trait of a successful anything- a successful person.
All of us are building lives. So all of us should engage in a process of self-engineering. We have to apply engineering to ourselves. And if we don't, we get a life that someone else has engineered or we get a nothing life. It isn't easy. I read this book and so much of I just have to kind of gloss over. I don't understand some of the concepts and formulas. Like moments of torque and what have you. I could not have passed a course in engineering in a quarter, a semester or a year. But now I don't have to. I have a lifetime to study and apply the principles of engineering. And so do you.
Or as Captain James T. Kirk may have said "Scotty, how soon can you get us to warp factor nine?"
The authors of this book define an engineer as an individual who uses math, science, and economics to solve technical problems that confront society. An engineer is a problem solver. Now math, science, and economics were the three subjects I disliked the most in school. Yet these are the disciplines that solve problems.
The main tool of engineering is something called the design method. It has ten steps. 1. Identify and define the problem. 2. Assemble a design team. 3. Identify constraints and criteria for success. 4. Search for solutions. 5. Analyze each potential solution. 6. Choose the best solution. 7. Document the solution. 8. Communicate the solution to management. 9. Construct the solution. 10. Verify and evaluate the performance of the solution. Sounds like a recipe for life and it is. These are the steps some of us take to fashion a life worth having.
Then the authors talk about the traits of a successful engineer. There are 16 and these are listed on pages 24 and 25. They sound like the trait of a successful anything- a successful person.
All of us are building lives. So all of us should engage in a process of self-engineering. We have to apply engineering to ourselves. And if we don't, we get a life that someone else has engineered or we get a nothing life. It isn't easy. I read this book and so much of I just have to kind of gloss over. I don't understand some of the concepts and formulas. Like moments of torque and what have you. I could not have passed a course in engineering in a quarter, a semester or a year. But now I don't have to. I have a lifetime to study and apply the principles of engineering. And so do you.
Or as Captain James T. Kirk may have said "Scotty, how soon can you get us to warp factor nine?"
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Peace in Every Step
It dawned on me the other day that I don't get into very many arguments anymore. I prefer discussions. I used to love a good argument. But now it seems that I value peace even more. Also most of my values are set so that I don't feel the need to defend them. Or to see that they are defensible. Yes, we can have peace in every step.
I think part of it is maturity. You get to a certain age and you ask yourself "What is the point?" Why waste energy on fighting when the same energy allows you to create something. Certainly, it is an inside stop. I have raised my vibration such that "those" people are not attracted to me. Or maybe they are and I have learned how to de-escalate the situation. Or maybe I cut short our interaction.
So if you think in the language of peace eventually you will have peace in your life. It is language that determines the parameters of our behavior. In Hindu there are many more spiritual words than in English. We could say that there are more possible expressions of spirituality than in English. So if we reform our personal language to include more peace words and less hate words then I think we can definitely have peace in every step.
So we ourselves can load the dice. Load them with peace. In every step.
I think part of it is maturity. You get to a certain age and you ask yourself "What is the point?" Why waste energy on fighting when the same energy allows you to create something. Certainly, it is an inside stop. I have raised my vibration such that "those" people are not attracted to me. Or maybe they are and I have learned how to de-escalate the situation. Or maybe I cut short our interaction.
So if you think in the language of peace eventually you will have peace in your life. It is language that determines the parameters of our behavior. In Hindu there are many more spiritual words than in English. We could say that there are more possible expressions of spirituality than in English. So if we reform our personal language to include more peace words and less hate words then I think we can definitely have peace in every step.
So we ourselves can load the dice. Load them with peace. In every step.
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