A 10 Minute Drive: From Phenomenology To Situational Truth

By Jimmy G

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I picked up Christopher from work. As soon as he got into the car, he asked me - as he always does - a philosophical question.
"Dad, what is the way to Truth?"
"What do you mean?" I asked
"Well, I'm not asking for the nature of truth," Chris explained, "How does one deal with truth? I mean, how does one stay on the right path?"
"You're asking for a certain way of finding the truth? An approach? A method?" I asked.
"Yeah, you can say that. Dad, you mentioned phenomenology the other day. What is it?"
It takes about 10 minutes from his work place to arrive home. How do you explain phenomenology in 10 minutes or less?
"Well, phenomenology is a method of understanding the essence of things, that is, the meaning for being what they are. Everyone has biases and prejudices, whether they are derived from studies or they are irrational. Some of these judgments are not false. Some are scientifically verified. But, these scientifically verified statements were formed from a standpoint that may have nothing to do with the essence of a thing.
By exploring an essence of a thing, I am referring to our immediate experience of an essence of a thing. By immediate experience, I mean, an unadulterated experience prior to the formation of biases and prejudices. To focus your attention on the immediate experience, you need to put aside or 'bracket' out these biases and prejudices. Bracketing them out does not mean that they are false or that you are skeptical of them. On the contrary, bracketing is a way of suspending your judgment as you go on your own finding the essence.. Eventually, some of them are taken into consideration after realizing that some of them may after all be part of the essence of a thing."
"But, can we really let go of our biases and prejudices? Asked Chris, "We can try, but there's no guarantee that we can put aside all of our biases and prejudices."
"I don't think that you or anyone can completely put aside your biases and prejudices, especially the ones that you're blind to, despite your efforts. It's the deeply rooted biases and prejudices that escape scrutiny. Now, is phenomenology a total failure? It depends on how you look at it. Insofar searching for the essence, I think phenomenology failed. However, I like its spirit, its intention. Phenomenology assumes that a lone individual can find the truth. That's a problem. However, if you desire to be truthful, then you'll realize that you can't do it on your own. No one individual can."
"What do you mean? Are you saying that an individual, a specially gifted individual like Gandhi, Mandela, Jesus, or Confucius, in his moment of silence, contemplation, of seclusion, didn't discover the truth?" Chris was puzzled.
[It contradicts the common notion of a lone wise person, who leaves the pack and stays secluded for a number of years in a place known only to him, only to resurface and reconnect with the multitude who are in need of a moral compass.]
"Chris, I have no doubt that they have a great capacity for knowing the truth, more than most people. But do you think any of them has the monopoly of Truth? I am pretty sure that one knows something that the other has overlooked. Maybe, it's my bias, but I consider them human beings. But, if you consider one of them to be a god, then I will just have to say, Amen. I cannot pretend to know what only the gods know.something. Socrates was aware of his ignorance.. He said: 'I know nothing beyond this earth and below it. I only know what is human.' Or, something to that effect. So, neither you nor II can talk or should want to pretend to know about things that only non human beings know. For instance, 'is there life after life? It sure is tempting to say that it exists. In all honesty, I do not know about it the way I know my experiences and the steering wheel in front of me, and the driver's seat I am sitting on, and you beside me, and home, and we're just about 5 minutes away."
So, let us talk about human beings, and limit ourselves to what they can know. I am pretty certain that every individual has his own set of biases and prejudices. All he can do is minimize their influence or at least be aware of them; Whatever he claims to be truthful will always be influenced by his history, background, education, to name a few. In other words, he can arrive at truthful statements that others can learn from him; but there will be others who, unlike him, have their own and equally valid interpretation. Each interpretation, it seems to me, has a blind spot that others can fill. Others, needless to say, have their own blind spots. Nothing wrong with blind spots. It is part of being human, limited to time and space.
I think it's a humble way of looking at truth - that is, truthful statements - and of recognizing that there are various interpretations of a given situation. It's a humble way because when you realize that no matter how honest and earnest you are in finding the truth (truthful statement) that you believe not only applies to you but to the others well, you will also learn the habit of being critical and open to other ideas.
"Well, we're home."
Chris got off first and head for the door. He has work the following day, and I am expected to pick him up. I don't have to be fortune teller to know that, when I pick him up, he's going to greet me with another question.

For other articles, please visit http://livingreexamined.blogspot.ca/2011/11/i-didnt-want-to-blog.html

Weak, Evil, and Rotten Words

By Maria Duron

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Good communication is important in running a business. As people who sell and provide products and services to others, we need to effectively convey what our business is about. We have to use words that make us confident about what we are selling, words that will make us a trustworthy brand. Of course, part of conveying strong and effective messages to our consumers mean that our products and services live up and exceed their expectations. So how do we do it?
Our choice of words greatly affects how people understand what we are telling them. When we are marketing our products, we have to use words and phrases that will convince them that they do want our products or that they need the services that we are offering. Our choice of words also says a lot about how we do business and how reliable we are as a brand.
Here are some words that we should avoid using during business transactions:
Weak words - weak words can greatly affect our business transactions. When talking to customers, we have to make an impression, and using weak words is not good to start with. A sample of a weak word is the word, think. When you say, "I think you will greatly enjoy our product," you sound unsure about the product or you are making your customer feel that you are indifferent. You can improve that sentence by saying, "You will greatly enjoy our product..." then you can go on about why the product is perfect for them. Confidence plays a big factor here. If you know what you are selling and you know it well, you are likely to deliver strong and attractive messages to your customers in a natural manner. You won't even sound like you are trying to sell something. Customers love doing business with people who make them think and feel that they made the right decision by buying your products or services.
Evil words - we have a big responsibility to our business, especially when it comes to our brand's reputation. Anything we do and say reflects back to our business. That's why it's important that we avoid using evil words such as cuss words or derogatory words. It can happen when we are talking to random people out in the street and we feel like airing our opinions. It can also happen when we are on our social media sites and we accidentally updated our status on our business site instead of our personal page. Using such words will offend our customers, especially since we don't know them too well to have a deep understanding on what can and cannot offend them. Be on the safe side; always be polite and sensitive to what our customers will feel about our opinions or statements. Avoid cuss words or words that have a negative meaning.
Rotten words - our words become the worst when we mix it with negative attitude. Keeping a positive tone together with choosing the right words is important in business communication. This is especially true when it comes to customer service. A negative tone and the wrong words will prevent you from gaining a customer, making a sale, and increases your chance of getting a bad reputation. When it comes to customers asking you about anything regarding your business, here are some phrases you should avoid:
• I don't know - saying this means a lot of negative things that can bring your business down. It can mean that you don't know what you are selling. It can mean that you are not interested in this person that is asking about your products, and it can mean that you are not confident about the product or service that you are selling. It's fine if you really don't know the answer to the question, but it's better if you give them a reassuring answer like, let me find out for you. Make them feel that they are important.
• Calm down - this can happen when a customer is on your social media site writing about their bad experience they had with your brand. Don't say "calm down." Instead, apologize and empathize. Understand the problem and then let them know that you are going to do your best to resolve the issue.
• I can't do that - we may be limited by company policies but there's always a way or a workaround on a problem. Saying this will mean that you are not willing to help your customer at all. Instead of saying this, what you can say is, "What I can do is..."
Choosing the right words to say to our customers always matters. When they like something that we said or did for them, they will surely tell it to others. It is the same when they get offended by the words that we say. They will tell others how about the bad experience they had while doing business with your brand. To avoid this, always follow good etiquette and be polite.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks "work" and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops - taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy, http://buzz2bucks.com.

The Super Ego of the Organism - Human Mobs and Socialism, It's Much Worse Than You Think

By Lance Winslow

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Often before you can join a cult or a large group you have to surrender your ego at the door, submit to authority, and give up some of self, or at least some of yourself in order to belong. Even if you don't realize this, generally it is happening to you anyway, unfortunately that's even worse as you are doing it without your knowledge or choice. This is where the indoctrination begins, new terminology, definitions, ideals, leaders, people, and camaraderie. It all looks fine on the surface, everything is great - something new and intriguing.

This is where it starts and something happens. You give up part of yourself and your ego, and find the strength of the herd, a super ego if you will, the super ego of the new organism or group. Still, you have to be careful to observe what's happening or you get sucked in without realizing it. Eventually, you see that the things you once thought you believed in start to change, you become a little confused, but the group or organization has a plan for this; constant bombardment of their message, repetition.

Interestingly enough, this works in human groups of all types and in any size. It can work for organizing a football team, gang, platoon, business, religion, political party, or even a whole nation - in fact, it's done every day. But don't feel bad if you didn't know this was perpetually happening to you human, your upright walking cousins do it too, we see it with other primates - chimpanzee troops for instance. You really aren't that special my friend. No, it wasn't my intention to burst your bubble, but since I've already broken the water, maybe it's time that you came out into the real world.

You see, if you give yourself to the mob, and if it controls your mind, you are now part of a super organism with a superego, no longer an individual. In that case you've joined the Borg, how does that make you feel? You see, it's not my job to blow smoke up your ass, or give you a certificate for participation, nor is it my job to stroke your self-esteem. You see, I am an individual, I am outside of your realm, and I am looking in at you, and I am wondering what the hell you think you're doing? Do you even have a brain - can you even think for yourself anymore?

Why have you joined the mass mindless mob of humanity in this way? Why have you surrendered your thoughts, your energy, and even your life's purpose to a group which has done nothing but lie to you? Why would you do that to yourself, why would you give up your life experience for a bunch of utter nonsense? You know, the other day I was talking to a friend, and I said I would like to go around and turn everyone else back on.

I was explaining that it seems like no one was thinking anymore, and everyone was just running around going through their daily paces without even thinking. It was as if all of humanity turned off, and everyone was running around on autopilot. Now then, and yes I'm talking to you personally, not your group anymore. It's time that you stepped out, looked around and observed things using your own mind, and started actually thinking about what you're doing, and why, it's okay if you choose to join a group, as long as it is your choice and you are sure of it, as long as you don't have to give up self to do it.

Still, I would submit to you that chances are this isn't the case. Wake up human. Beware of the super ego of the organism, it will consume you, and then you'll only be the shell of a cell that's been infected with a virus. Think of it like those zombie movies in that new science fiction genre. Why would you want to be like that? In any case, that's all for now, and I thank you for listening. Please consider all this and think on it.

The Value of Culture

By Chari Langali

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A good culture plays a part in moulding the morals of individuals and the society at large. Culture in itself is a powerful mentor, tending to shape individuals in its image. The culture of ancient Greek and ancient Israel show us the ways in which culture affected the morals of the individual; we read in biblical writings which were written in the era where these two cultures were predominant, that "Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generation."

Culture is a powerful tool for human continued positive existence. It regulates a people and gives them:

Identity

Every individual in any strong culture identifies himself with that particular culture and therefore has a sense of belonging. The Israelites lived a nomadic life and yet in any nation they went to they still identified themselves as Jews and conducted themselves according to their cultural beliefs.

Accountability

All the individuals young and old were accountable to the instructions of their society and to one another.

Survival

There was continuity or continued existence of the cultural beliefs. They were handed down from generation to generation.

Order/ Code of conduct

There was a set of rules governing the lives and the general welfare of the individuals in the society and the way in which they were enforced. The process was so repetitive that it became engrained in the members of that society and the individuals developed good character.

Today society has neglected culture and has therefore given birth to individuals who lack the values of life and good character. How can we restore good values? Can we rebuild what has already been torn down? Yes we can. If not in this generation, we can have a better tomorrow for our children and grandchildren, if we begin to take action now.

A few of the vehicles for change which can be used are:

Education System

The education system can help build a culture. The power to use the education forum to shape the morals and dispositions of individuals, by imparting skills and insights in an agreed format or pattern in a particular society, can cause a revolution of an entire culture.

Religious Beliefs

These mould people in the way individuals act, think and behave and can thereby be used to form a good culture in that religious society.

Family Life

Each family has a code of conduct governing that particular family. The head or both parents in the family can play a big role in creating culture continuity in their offspring by instilling the good values which form the culture in that family.

The Human 'Operating System'

By John Cowie

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How do we 'operate'? What makes us 'work'? Where does our knowledge stem from? Where do our beliefs, cultures, phobias, superstitions, etc., originate? What gives us our individuality?

We can see quite clearly the importance of an 'operating system' (O/S) to the computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an O/S. The computer will not function without one. This fact has made Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, one of the richest men on Earth.

The 'operating systems' in the computer environment provide a proprietary software platform on top of which other computer programs, called 'application programs', can run. For example you can run the 'application program' Word, Excel or this PowerPoint presentation from the Microsoft Office Suite on one of the most popular 'operating systems', Microsoft Windows - Windows 95, 98, 2000, Windows NT, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows 7...

All of these 'operating systems' reside in Read-Only Memory (ROM) that means you cannot gain access to the O/S. It is non-volatile and is never erased. But what you can manipulate is the 'application programs' in Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, etc.

'Operating systems' perform basic tasks, such as recognising input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. For large computer systems, the O/S has even greater responsibilities and powers. It is like a traffic cop - it makes sure those different programs and users running at the same time do not interfere with each other. The O/S is also responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorised users do not access the system.

I believe this 'operating system' in humans is comprised of genes from not only our parents but also ancestors reaching back to the beginning of life on Earth. Within our 'operating systems' I believe we have what I would call a 'trans-generation' subconscious memory that is made up of data gathered from the point when life began to when we were conceived.

In addition to this we accumulate experiences and information during our life span on Earth that adds to this knowledge and might be likened to an 'application program' similar to Word or Excel, where we add our own files in a similar way to adding software and files to a computer's hard disk which gives each computer its individuality. There are some experiences and information which change our personalities and seemed ingrained into us and there are also things which leave little impression on us and this might be compared to a game run on the computer's CD ROM for a few weeks and then never played again. I hope this comparison starts to show how we can be individual even though we are born with common genes. So, it is possible to influence your life span on Earth, but you cannot change your inherited 'operating system'!

We can get a very basic idea of the complexity of our 'operating system' by imagining a series of circles expanding from a small inner circle to the largest outer circle, like the cross section of an onion cut in half. The small inner circle representing when life began on Earth to the critical "missing link" point when the human race was created following the arrival of a highly intelligent extraterrestrial life-form that bred with, or somehow implanted its genetic material and educated our Homo ancestors around 13,000 years ago up to the outside circle representing our parents' generation. The 'onion' diagram would need to be quite large just to show around 500 generations that will have come and gone during the 13,000 years that have elapsed since the arrival of the extraterrestrial visitor(s). Of course contributions to our 'operating system' from the Homo sapiens side of the family began long before the arrival of the 'Alien Visitor'. From the point when life first began on Earth up until the arrival of our early Australopithecine/Homo ancestors, 500 million years of evolution had taken place. An important point for us was the emergence, from an unknown natural disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs, of a pig-like creature known as the lystrosaur. The lystrosaur slowly evolved into small ape like creatures called australopithecines that made the first steps on the human journey some 15 million years ago. But, for the purpose of this article I will assume that the Homo sapiens contribution to our 'operating system' may have been similar to a present day Chimpanzees' 'operating system'.

How can we prove that this O/S exists? This can be clearly shown when we look at the 'interface' of the O/S and the beginning of our life span on Earth. When we see a new baby for the first time we remark on which features it has inherited from which parent or grandparent. Diplomacy can be important at this time! I have a photograph of my great-great grandfather. Even though the photo is very old, I can see clear resemblances to my father and brother. With the advent of video cameras, future generations will be able to see more clearly the 'similarities' in appearances and mannerisms across the generations.

When a baby is born, the basic survival functions are already there adapted and developed from the earliest circles! A baby just 'knows' how to breath, cry, yawn, suck. If you drop the baby in a swimming pool it will swim. It will also know not to suck and swim at the same time!

It is clear that the new baby has come into the world with characteristics and a memory inheritance program that enables it to operate or to live its life as an individual on Earth. A cat will have the characteristics (O/S) of a cat, a swan a swan, etc.

It is very important to recognise that we have inherited this individual O/S. I hope the complexity of our multi-million year old O/S demonstrates just how amazing and precious we all are!

To explain further let us look at how we access our memory. In a computer it is very easy to locate a file, for example a Word document, and open it. But, unlike the logical silicon circuits in computers, our brain or memory is not accessed logically, because it is made up of chemicals that can be easily 'disturbed', thus creating many strange phenomena. So, in the Human O/S, is our intelligence, our IQ, a measurement of how easily we can access information from our memory?!

In the human it is important here to highlight three states of memory - Conscious, unconscious and subconscious. The first two relate to our life span on Earth, the third to our inherited 'operating system'. My definition of conscious is 'alert and awake', the unconscious 'forgotten experiences', 'still there but no longer aware of' - (meet an old friend, begin to remember forgotten experiences) and the subconscious - 'not experienced in our own life-time' information.

Every second of every day, we subconsciously access our O/S, but there are occasions when we can inadvertently access our O/S consciously, with some interesting results.

Disturbances to our brain cells can be caused by bereavement, illness (fever), drugs (deliberate or accidental), fasting, and sleep deprivation. There are long-term hereditary mental illness problems such as paranoia and schizophrenia, or problems during pregnancy, which can result in conditions such as Autism, Dyspraxia etc.

It is important to recognise that our conscious insights into our subconscious memory (O/S) are all in the memory which we sometimes refer to as the mind! Let us look at some of the amazing results. When we experience deja vu, our minds seem to recall memories based on our experiences. This tricks us into believing there is a displacement of time in our present conscious lives. But I also believe that as a race, we are trying to decipher memories of events that we have not experienced. I think we can accidentally introduce our past subconscious information, that is to say, data from our ancestors that is stored in our subconscious memory (O/S) to our present conscious memory.

As far as I know, there is no evidence of anyone touching a ghost but many people have 'seen' ghosts. I believe the memory of the ancestor exists in an individual's subconscious memory (O/S) and under certain conditions the 'video clip' of the ancestor or location can be accessed from the subconscious memory and appears as a 'ghost'. The same process applies to most Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) sightings. Many people around the world have 'witnessed' this phenomenon. Some claims UFOs are currently mapping our planet. I think they were doing these 13,000 years ago and where people believe they see UFOs today they are actually seeing an inherited memory hidden in their subconscious.

People who believe they are reincarnations of our ancestors may also be bringing forward memories from a subconscious collective memory. I believe these memories are not resurrected from the individual's own life on Earth but from a database of human history which we all possess in our inherited trans-generation memory genes. In extreme cases, some individuals may find it difficult to lead their lives on Earth because of easy access to information stored in the brain of earlier generations. So, when Arthur Pendragon claims he is the twentieth-century reincarnation of King Arthur he is perhaps experiencing flashes of information from this trans-generation subconscious memory, which he has inherited and cannot easily control. Some people may believe they are reincarnations and others do not, depending on whether or not they have flashbacks from the trans-generation memory. A computer can also be seen to have 'flashbacks'. We may do a search to find a file and come up with a completely different one that was thought to have been erased several years ago.

Some of us can be party to new ideas and inventions that have yet to be launched on the general public. Having this knowledge can give the impression that we can foresee the future.

Apart from having memories, we are also contained in the memories of other people. We may meet someone and be reminded of past experiences and sensations, but in the same way other people will meet us and recollect memories associated with us. Even if we do not have children our ideas are still transferred to consequent generations of people because of the impact we make on our peers and even on pets in our own lifetimes.

Our human tissue, our flesh and blood is comprised of a multitude of chemicals. So our brain or memory tissue is by no means a secure means of storing and retaining data. We can observe this reality as we grow older. The 'links' between the memory cells become weaker and we begin to look back on the memory that is easiest to access, our early memory of our life-span on Earth, our childhood and those we grew up with.. As we grow ever older we can become very confused as we slip back into information stored in our memory inherited from previous generations. Much of this uttered information does not make sense to even the closest member of the family. Perhaps, in trying to understand inherited memories we will gain a greater understanding of senility.

The silicon chip is a much more stable method of storing information. However, compared to the human brain, this silicon chip technology and the level of complexity is still in its infancy and computer 'hackers' can gain access to the information stored in these silicon circuits. As mentioned previously all sorts of ways and means have been tried to dislodge or in some way manipulate our memory genes, but we are still some way off before we can 'hack' into the hidden memory in the human brain. I think we can try to excavate this knowledge using our imagination in addition to our intelligence.

It is important that we are aware our genetic 'operating system' can be counterproductive. Under given conditions we can revert back to fears, beliefs, superstitions, etc., contained in our subconscious memory. Sometimes we experience irrational fears, such as sense of horror when we see spiders, but we have no past experience in our own lives that could explain why we would be so frightened of this creature. This fear is not learnt, it seems to already be within us and is sometimes triggered but we do not know why. Perhaps our phobias and superstitions were once logical to us but during our evolution we have become unclear about why we have these impulses. The knowledge to understand them is still within our subconscious memories but is obscured or has been altered by the addition of more information through the generations. People sometimes suffer so badly from these irrational fears that they try to overcome them using hypnotherapy. Maybe this works because the hypnotherapist is able to draw out the forgotten knowledge in the patient and match it to the trigger so that it is no longer irrational and therefore alarming. Some among us, for example politicians, religious leaders, psychologists and marketing executives, have learnt how to manipulate our subconscious memories, so beware!

From the origin of life to the present, we slowly evolved, gathering data and developing our senses with each surviving generation. I believe this collection of knowledge and experience is passed on to every human as a kind of 'operating system'. I also believe from the many geniuses and remarkable inventions we are aware of in our history, it is clear our knowledge is not evolving, but rather it is being rediscovered.

Once we understand we have this amazing 'operating system' stored in our subconscious memory and accept that we are all pretty much equal in terms of our inherited 'trans-generation' data, then we might begin to bridge the formidable barrier between one person's thoughts and those of another.

The great benefit of knowing we have an 'operating system' is that we can appreciate and understand how we operate and begin thinking for ourselves. I believe acknowledging our 'operating system' will move us forward to the next phase of our evolution where we can empower future generations with the knowledge to explore the mysteries of the universe and discover the path to universal love.

Revised from the original article - copyright November 2001

On the 26th December 2004 an undersea earthquake occurred, recorded at 9.1 on the Richter scale, just north of Simeulue Island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake triggered a series of devastating tsunamis that spread throughout the Indian Ocean, killing large numbers of people and inundating coastal communities across South and Southeast Asia, including parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The furthest recorded death due to the tsunami occurred some 8,000 km (5,000 miles) from the epicentre.

This earthquake was also reported to be the longest duration of faulting ever observed, lasting between 500 and 600 seconds, and it was large enough that it caused the entire planet to vibrate at least half an inch, or over a centimetre. It also triggered earthquakes in other locations as far away as Alaska.

This catastrophe is one of the deadliest disasters in modern history and highlights just how vulnerable our civilization is to natural events.

Is it possible that a similar event occurred some 10,500 years ago, which devastated an ancient civilization which was thriving on our planet at this time? Are we the offspring of the survivors from this earlier catastrophic event as described in John Cowie's book "Silbury Dawning: The Alien Visitor Gene Theory?