 | Current mood:  creative Category: Dreams and the Supernatural The Reason for Reason How does one know? One is able to put him or herself into the place of another mentally. The same is true when reading the Bible about the divine spark that created the universe. If the spark was completely separate from all that we know, then we would have no knowledge of its capabilities, but scientists tell us otherwise. Scientists gather light, take photos and design light bulbs, such that they are able to manipulate light. This requires firsthand knowledge of that divine spark that started it all. Where did we get it? That light permeates everything, and greater it possesses intelligence, as it makes up everything that is. The intelligence of that spark is what I refer to as God. It is not separate from that which created the world, but a part of it. The intelligence within that spark enables humans to band together to construct something positive, such as shelter. That is not to say that humans always act intelligently because that spark also created freewill. Freewill is the intelligence that allows both a doctor to cure someone or an evil person to do evil things such as murder. The Big Bang occurred before humanity was, but we know of it. We know of it because the creator of light has the property of omniscience. We are able to know of it because to know it is to know a part of our self. There is nothing that humanity is incapable of knowing. For this, we say that we have dominion in that subject, knowing. Knowing is that which higher cognitive functions come from such as understanding and wisdom. These three functions, knowledge, understanding and wisdom reside in our brains, and that explains why we are able. However, the divine spark that explains why these things and all other things came into being. This amazing spark of light had all the properties of darkness and light wrapped up in it, but it is no longer available in its purest form. Thus, we stumble as we learn we find a purpose in it. Then, later in doing, we find a purpose in that as well. |
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Reason for Reason
Friday, May 1, 2009
Why I Say the Shema: “Hear O Israel, the Lord Our God is One.”
Why I Say the Shema: “Hear O Israel, the Lord Our God is One.”
The Shema, “Hashem echad,” the proclamation that there is one God might seem foolish for me to say. After all, I believe properties of God, such as omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence are within the world. Many Jews say that these properties of God are not true. That God is a force outside the world, and only acts upon it. This might be considerable as what a heretic might say, but I might liken that idea to a person operating a machine that is prone to failure. Rather than seeing God as separate from the machine, I see that God is as all, and no one is without, such that God is not separate from us, but is actually a part of us. However, God is not a part of us that we might extract, but that the essence of God permeates all, if and only if, we will realize that it is true.
What is the point of stating the Shema, if the mere thought that God is one is sufficient to connect me to God? I believe that the words of our mouths blow through the cosmos. We, humans, in dominion paint over our landscape, earth. Our actions influence what the world looks like. Ever make an arrangement or paint a painting, and you know that touch is important to conferring beauty. So too is it with saying the Shema. Through fulfilling this mitzvah, I feel that I am actually contributing to the beauty of the world. Likewise, just as we appreciate the beauty of scenic landscape, so to do these words add to that.
Why would not the mere statement of it be sufficient given recognition of human power to bring about an age of peace? Where is the power of prayer when there are those that suffer, and have unanswered prayers? That too lies in majority rule. If men in all of their dominion said these words and meditated upon them, it would be by majority that an age of peace would come. Recognition of the majority and going with it is a part of Torah. Thus, God goes with the majority of what we humans see as fit.
We, imbued with godly properties, have the freewill to observe if we desire. It is by justice that a thief pays back, and this takes action. For this reason, God does not have the power to make a thief pay, but it is when people witness and make sure that justice occurs that a thief receives punishment due. That is, God has no power unless there are people that are willing to act in a righteous way. Saying the Shema is one way to be in touch with that righteous way. May the letters color the world and make it beautiful even if a minority says it.
The New American Dream: The Possibility of Getting Out of Debt
| Current mood:  irateCategory: News and Politics The New American Dream: The Possibility of Getting Out of Debt The ideal of the American Dream shifted. It was to own a house, a car, or maybe a small business. More than that, it was a promise of a hearty middle class. It was the idea that one would find work, and satisfaction in it, and the he or she might have a nuclear family that was out of the house of mom and dad. Times have changed. Even the immigrants look elsewhere to find a job. We will not have to worry about keeping them out. Businesses like Wal-Mart and other megastores sought to pay people less than a living wage, enslaving workers. For every three small businesses that go under, it seems like there is another big one that stays. I wonder if my son is ever going to ask me, “Daddy, what is small business?” to which I will have to reply something like, “Small businesses existed back when Americans spoke of the American Dream.” Machines, computers and automation eat up work now, such that there is not much available. The cost of living rose dramatically. Wages have not risen. Without the jobs that now eaten up by running machines and computers, people are struggling more than ever. People that do inventory merely scan, and rarely have to check merely to see if there are any missing items. This is unfamiliar ground for my parents’ generation. If they lose their jobs now, then they are stuck. Nobody has the money to pay for aged workers that might be on their way out. However, many companies say more and more that if you do not have experience in a particular niche job, then do not even bother applying. As more and more people receive eviction letters from their homes, having been unable to pay bills. Those that lose their jobs are stuck with tremendous credit debt. The average US citizen has $7,000 in credit debt, and those numbers shoot up much too quickly if new work is not found right away, which is more and more becoming impossibility. The average US citizen has a total of $21,000 in credit debt. People that have PhDs often receive their degree having no less than seven credit cards. It amounts to this. There is a new American Dream, and this one is modest. The American Dream is now just the idea that one might be able to get out of debt. This is not the countries ten trillion dollar debt. This is other debt. This is what citizens owe beyond what politicians in government gave license. What do we do, add more laws to fix it? Many say that is the answer, but what politician has the guts to say something like, no taxes at all for small businesses, and all taxes will be paid by the big ones. That is the only decision that could possibly pull us through the mess. People have more debt than they can afford to pay off in any reasonable amount of time. With the Wal-Mart drain, any economic rebounds will only be for short periods. They are not sustainable because people do not have the money to sustain increased spending that fixes an economy. People are broke. Moneylenders are broke. There are a few select people having most of the money, and this group is shrinking. People get counseling that are falling out the upper middle class. Bigger governments eventually implode. That is as history lesson. Eventually, this government will go. There will be a period of anarchy. Then, a new system will establish. Time will tell if the USA does it sooner rather than later, as anti-American sentiments build among common workers. I feel bad for my son that has to go through this period. I look around and see so many disillusioned youth, much more than when I was a teen, but my generation became disillusioned. |
Quarrels with Mom IV
Current mood:
crappy Category: Life
Quarrels with Mom IV
Dear Mom,
I was never shy. The fact was that I could not understand the words coming out of peoples’ mouths in conversation. Believe me; I ached to be able to understand those words so I could join in. I had auditory comprehension in the bottom 1% of people. I was the type that would be lonely even if other people were around. I would see their mouths move, but I could not understand what they said. I could only understand in a one on one conversation, but if two people talked to each other, I could not understand. I also had difficulty in speed. I could not come up with anything witty in a conversation.
It took me much longer to do my homework than normal people. While I was busy failing out of Rutgers, one young woman commented, “Nobody studies harder than you.” Instead, if I met something unfamiliar it was like receiving bulldozing because I could not come up with an answer on the spot. The problem is that I might never have talked about my deficiencies. It was always like there was a funk in my brain.
Morphine, the compound that I suffered from makes people sleepy. I was so sleepy that I wanted to cry daily. I used to get to class early everyday so that if there was an extra three minutes I could close my eyes. I missed so many classes at Rutgers because I was so tired. Your response to this was to say that I needed to get to bed earlier, and that ticked me off. I slept as much as I could, and I got to bed as early as I could. Yet, I woke up exceptionally tired every day. I would fall asleep between waking up and making breakfast. Generally, I did not feel any relief from my sleepiness until noon. That is when the symptoms of fatigue dissipated, so that I was not tired at night. Imagine spend six hours of your day, almost every day of the week for years on end, and you know my dilemma. Remember the movie, “Spaceballs?” In that movie, I would have been Prince Valium.
There were many symptoms and all of them were in difficulty communicating, both understanding and in talking, hyper-sexuality, sleepiness, and in taking care of myself. It is so hard to believe that you did not notice these things. I once read an article from a reputable Jewish source that likened my disease to life in a concentration camp. It was so difficult. I got in three car accidents it was so difficult. I should not have even been driving. In my exhaustion, I felt like you and dad piled on the work, cracked the whip, and made me study harder, but on so many days, I just wanted to die.
I know you like to point out that I was musical, but many with autism spectrum disorder exhibit this. Then, there was my election to the Youth Congress Deputy Speaker, but I heard it through the grapevine that the girls voted for me only because I looked good, and not because of my skill. Yes, there was the Dominican Republic speech I gave when I was in 8th grade, but that is before my symptoms got bad.
Sincerely,
Craig