Life Goes On...

Something that i found...

Read more...

I have quietly slipped back in here after a l-o-n-g hiatus. Do you think anyone will notice? And for those who did, a big HI!

here i am again.

so life does go on.

is that possible? i'm saying something even by saying this, aren't i?

really.

why don't you say something today?

Dogs bark at people they do not know.
-Heraclitus

i think i was prompted to write this post after my little tirade in the last. well, to be honest i succumbed to the notion that i need to explain myself, just so that i should not be seen with prejudiced eyes. why do we have to take out our swords and start slashing everytime we see a shadow move towards us? don't we have the courage to see if the shadow is indeed that of some enemy that poses danger to us?

hmmm...

but do i need to explain myself? do we need to go 'hey, now wait a minute' every time someone says something pointedly against you and your point of view? not always. but at times you have to, because you need to show some people the importance of having an opinion that may be opposite to theirs. not merely as an argument, but as a point of view nonetheless. and as a probable alternative to their closed way of thinking. and also to show that you can be tolerant to their views if they are open to yours. i know that sounds a little harsh, but you have to believe in something that is good. and not hide your own fears behind a facade of harsh prose or rationale that precludes any other point of view.

People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.
-August Strindberg

i would never be able to learn if i were to refuse my views to be challenged. i learn only from my views/notions/attitudes/beliefs being challenged. when any of these that i hold get defeated by a logic that i can understand and appreciate, i come away from that argument with gaining newer knowledge. not lesser conviction. there is a difference. my conviction is cemented when i win someone's respect, not when i win an argument.

well, life goes on...

i was reading a lot of stuff today written by university professors, scientists and the like about how everything should be explained in a 'scientific' way and how a lot of things like religion is not scientifc; intuition and all that is bunkum (at least some of it)... about falsifiability, modus tollens and a lot more. after many hours of reading, my final thought was:

they cannot survive outside of their own beliefs (based on their 'science') - they will go mad. they talk exactly as how they define how 'fanatics' would. i have a reason for what i feel, so don't think i'm saying it out of disrespect or hatred. their belief (or 'science') is based on a set of rules that they believe exists as next to absolute, or even absolute. they have, however, left enough loopholes to let themselves be disproved. and THIS they define as the spirit of science. the earth WAS flat until it was PROVEN that it was round... darn!

frankly, i have no clue. i have not seen the earth as flat OR round. when i go out and take a look around, it is flat around me and kinda rounded towards the horizon if i can see far enough, like when i am at the beach. so is it both? it is whatever they say, UNTIL proven otherwise. that's all.

i believe my belief system based on my own observations are equally valid for they cannot disprove me, just as i cannot disprove them. i have said this before - and i say it again:

i have not seen any atoms or molecules to believe that all matter consists of various combinations of them in different forms. but it is a rather good 'scientific' explanation. but i, PERSONALLY, have not been provided enough proof. everything could be made of cat poop for all i know! consider, for example: according to science, we can break the human body into its component constituents (chemical elements and compounds with scientific names like carbon, hydrogen etc.). all these chemical substances can be bought in the market or concocted in laboratories. so why can't we build a human being out of these? i'm not talking of cloning, that is just reproduction. i mean go out, buy these things, and make a human being. well, forget human being, maybe just a little plant?

here is a definition of the word religion that i found:
A system of beliefs that involves the existence or nonexistence of at least one of: a human soul or spirit, a deity or higher being, or self after the death of one’s body.

now, here is a (actually two) definition(s) of the word science:
1. The act and embodiment of performing the scientific method in order to discover empirically proven truth.
2. The act and embodiment of constructing falsifiable theories which are not subsequently falsified.

now, here's a definition of the scientific method referred to above:
A method of discovering knowledge based in making falsifiable predictions, testing them empirically, and preferring the simplest explanation that fits the known data.

immediately following this definition i found this:
While not perfect, the scientific method plays a crucial role in approaching objective truth.

clever loophole. but never mind, we'll let it pass.

now, empirically, based on my study of the evidence provided by the scientists i referred to in the beginning of my post (who say that religion is not science), i conclude that:

a. these scientists follow a system of beliefs that involves the nonexistence of at least one of: a human soul or spirit, a deity or higher being, or self after the death of one’s body.

b. refer to the definition of religion above. that's my proof.

c. therefore, science is a religion.

and i have used science to prove it. (funny how it all boils down to semantics, eh?)

life is a paradox at best. you just cannot explain it away as theories. i merely experience it. i learn from my own experience. while i can be open to all kinds of teaching, my learning will come only from within me, my friend. that's my religion. and my science. and my spirituality.

what's yours?

If you want something you never had, you must be willing to do something you never have.
-(i don't know who said this)

my business partner and friend had this sign on his softboard in the office to inspire the marketing team. i think it says a lot...

i feel the question we always need to answer about trying to achieve something... or anything... in life is how far are we willing to go in order to achieve it. and while we are at it, what will define us as good human beings is how we go about it...

what do you think?

For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.
- Dr. Robert Anthony

where does motivation come from? is it from within us? or is from without? would we be able to do anything in life, if, after all the encouragement we get from without, we weren't moved to action from within? have you ever thought of how powerful you actually are? have you ever thought about the things you can achieve if only you believed you should try before you say you cannot?

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstances.
- Bruce Barton

believe. your life will change. believe your life will change... and it WILL change.

i'm wondering why people don't leave any comments on my blog. do you have a comment on that?

"Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess. And in this it is not likely that all are mistaken the conviction is rather to be held as testifying that the power of judging aright and of distinguishing truth from error, which is properly what is called good sense or reason, is by nature equal in all men; and that the diversity of our opinions, consequently, does not arise from some being endowed with a larger share of reason than others, but solely from this, that we conduct our thoughts along different ways, and do not fix our attention on the same objects. For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellences, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it...

"...After all, it is possible I may be mistaken; and it is but a little copper and glass, perhaps, that I take for gold and diamonds. I know how very liable we are to delusion in what relates to ourselves, and also how much the judgments of our friends are to be suspected when given in our favor. But I shall endeavor in this discourse to describe the paths I have followed, and to delineate my life as in a picture, in order that each one may also be able to judge of them for himself, and that in the general opinion entertained of them, as gathered from current report, I myself may have a new help towards instruction to be added to those I have been in the habit of employing."

-Rene Descartes, Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences, Chapter 1

i find that there are enough people who have said what i feel before me... that you may find it easier to quote them instead of me

think. and find your method, friend. it brings a sense of happiness, a kind of inexplicable bliss in believing... and knowing for sure, your own perpesctive.

cogito, ergo sum

they are everywhere! o beings of the shadows, may life lead you away from the shadows into the light...

hey, you just read this! what's stopping you from leaving a comment? huh? huh? go on, just give it a try. who knows, you might discover some strength in you that has remained hidden all this while. well you wouldn't know unless you took that first step now, would you? life's like that. full of first steps. take one now! right here, right now.

believe!

* * * * *

added a little while later:

i have taken a step towards you. now go ahead and take your step. maybe we can meet halfway...
i have allowed anonymous comments on my blog. let's see where that heads.

lay down your arms, soldier,
for the only wars you will win
are the ones you don't fight.

...do you think what i have written above is poetry? why? is it because the sentence has been chopped into lines to make the appearance of a 'stanza'? or is it the idea itself? now if it were either, neither or both... what is poetry anyway? is this paragraph poetry too? why? or why not?

whatever, i do agree with plato on the end of war thing. i see it everyday in the news on iraq every day. poor soldiers. fighting somebody else's war for their own honor. a paradox again.

hmmm

to try to understand something brings up only more questions... no wonder ignorance is bliss!

or is it?

thank you very much nyingje! yes i agree - karma.

i think we just need to go deeper into our own way of thinking... who knows, may be we will ultimately find the meaning of life through our own experiences i think that's what all great spiritual leaders have done - find their own answers and share the experience with others. (not 'teach', just share)

maybe we will unlock some secrets that we can share with others.

maybe we should all seek the buddha in us...

maybe we can ultimately make the world a better place.

does truth exist by itself? or is it qualified only by how we think and react to situations, people and feelings? is there some such thing as absolute truth? will we ever know what to believe as the truth?

why do people pretend to be different people at the same time? are they ill?

hmmm...

Alypius, non sane reliquens viam demonstratam sibi a parentibus, Romam praecesserat, ut ius disceret. Ibi incredibili gladiatorii spectaculi studio incredibiliter arreptus est. Cum enim vitaret et detestaretur talia, quibusdam eius amicis et condiscipulis forte de prandio redeuntibus occurrit.

Illi eum recusantem vehementer et resistentem familiari violentia duxerunt in amphitheatrum diebus ludorum crudelium et funestorum, haec dicentem: "Sic corpus meum in locum illum trahitis, num et animum et oculos meos in illa spectacula potestis intendere? Adero sed animus aberit, ac sic et vos et illa superabo." Quibus auditis, illi vehementius eum adduxerunt secum, id ipsum forte explorare cupientes, utrum posset efficere.

Quo ubi advenerunt et sedibus locati sunt, fervebant omnia immanissimis voluptatibus. Ille oculos clausit, quia in tanta mala animum suum procedere nolebat. Debuit etiam aures claudere! Nam quodam pugnae casu cum clamor ingens totius populi vehementer eum pulsavisset, curiositate victus et paratus, quidquid illud esset, etiam visum contemnere et vincere, oculos aperuit.

Statim percussus est graviore vulnere in anima quam in corpore ille gladiator, quem videre cupivit, ceciditque miserabilius quam ille, quo cadente factus est clamor. Ut enim vidit illum sanguinem, crudelitatem simul bibit. Non se avertit, sed diligenter spectabit. Hauriebat furias et nesciebat, et delectebatur scelere certaminis, et sanguinea voluptate inebriebatur. Nec erat iam ille, qui venerat, sed unus de turba ad quam venerat, et verus eorum socius, a quibus adductus erat.

Quid plura? Spectavit, clamavit, exarsit, abstulit inde secum insaniam, qua excitabatur redire, non tantum cum illis, a quibus adductus erat, sed etiam prae illis et alios trahens.

MY DEAR READER, DOES IT MATTER WHETHER I WRITE GREEK OR LATIN (no, i didn't write the passage)HERE? DO YOU READ BLOGS AND MAKE SENSE OUT OF WHAT IS SAID? DO THEY MAKE YOU THINK? DOES THE EXISTENCE OF BLOGS LIKE THIS ONE MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO YOUR LIFE?

is this blog, like the countless ones that haunt the vacant spaces of the cyber world, doomed to obscurity? i wonder then, does a writer exist without readers? or does the writing exist by itself? does a writer need a reader, an audience to exist as a writer? or does he cease to exist as a writer if not?

life goes on...

i was just thinking... this blog was begun a while ago. and it went on living by itself i mean i haven't updated it in long while, but it still lives, apparently in good health. everything seems to be the way i left it and the only thing that stops it from growing is my input.

some time back in another blog of mine i had written that a bog needs to be fed or it just dies... i think i should change that statement now. i checked - that blogis still alive and well. it just hasn't GROWN. i almost feel guilty that i didn't let it grow, didn't nurture it.

blogs are like our children in many ways, aren't they? you give them birth and you bring them into a world of a zillion other blogs. do they survive by themselves, yes they do... i mean, they don't just fade away (not all that easily at least). but do they grow by themselves? not completely... you need to nudge them along the way so they can find their own lives, their own purpose.

hmmm...

i mean i added this countDOWN after i unsuccessfully tried to get it to show a negative number. i mean, i wanted a count FORWARD or countUP. like how much older i am getting by the minute or something useless like that, you see. well, i guess you don't get everything. at least not all the time.

what Nyingje said in a comment to my earlier post is so true!

http://my.opera.com/Nyingje/about/

i always say, the only meaning you will ever find in anything is that which you do not seek... a lot of things in life can neither be explained or 'understood' in the conventional sense, but can be profoundly felt.

physics and chemistry may give you frameworks with which you can seek to deconstruct life's mysteries... but someone TOLD me we're like atoms and molecules and stuff... hey, i ain't seen no electron yet! so should i believe in physics?

life goes like that

you don't understand it. you merely experience it.

well, the truth is that the more you learn, the only thing you'll ever know is how little you really do.

figure? seriously. think about it.

as a matter of fact, i realized many things. one of them is that its not going to be much use putting my 'realizations' on a blog. sorry, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, so to speak.

but do you realize, dear reader, that we realize so many things in so short a time as our lifespan that most of the time we have no clue that we have indeed realized these things? i mean, look at it - the evidence is right here before you. you must've realized that the guy who wrote this, yours truly, is probably of questionable mental health (hee hee).

and guess what? i just realized something: that i have used the word 'realize' 8 times in different forms here in just 7 sentences.

man, the amount of useless information that we can gather is scary sometimes.

:-)

ps: don't forget your medication.

it is one of those eternal questions... i mean look at it. it took me almost a year :-) is there hope?

a few years ago, i switched to using opera. then i switched to using linux. now i'm using opera on linux. but hold on... there's a common thread in all this. hmmm... looks like its the absence of the 'm' word in any of the software i use these days.

is this what they call freedom?