Philosophy

There is a Haiku blog post, in By John Lina, entitled Do or Die, that asserts philosophy to be (a) subjective and (b) opinion.  All of our rules are subjective and based on opinion; religion, law, and even the boundary lines.  There have been a great many people, and animals for that matter, put to death as a result.  

The two basic extant philosophies (opinions) are atheistic and religious, that there is, or isn't, an immaterial world.  Many members of the scientific community are of the opinion that there is not. All of those in the religious community are of the opinion that there is.  Who is right?  And if one is right, is the other wrong.  This schism is a good example of my assertion that opinion rules. 

In the above example both sides use their opinions as a basis for action. On both sides there are nuances. On the scientific, or atheistic side, mathematics and experimental research support assertions.  As reliable as these are, there are instances where experience has proven them wrong, or inadequate. Conclusions based on the scientific method are eroded by experience. It is, however, to their credit that when proven wrong, it is admitted and a new understanding is reached.

The other side, the religious, is less inclined to ever admit to later, better conclusions.  The nuances on that side are numerous, with the major religions leading the way, followed by sub-sects within them ranging in size from very many to a few adherents.  It is in these sub-sects that, what are thought to be refinements, are made.

The opinions of all are born in imagination, which is highly developed in humans.  It was sparked somewhere in history, and Sumerians are the oldest identified humans who demonstrated highly developed imaginations. That would have been about 3000 BC.  And there may be other, older examples.  The quest for the origins of our enhanced capabilities goes on, and it is to our credit that it does.  There seems to be a need to satisfy our curiosity about origins.

In any event, we are governed by opinions.  We uphold, protect, and defend them, sometimes to the detriment of others, who may have conflicting opinions. We should not lose sight of the fact that it is all opinion.  And, perhaps, because there are so many, we can conclude that not one of them is totally correct.  We are reminded of the three blind men describing the elephant.

Perhaps

Cancelled my t-time today, the course is too wet from yesterday's all-day rain.  Then a producer sent me an Email, by mistake.  No big deal and it reminded me that we all make mistakes and it doesn't affect us.  People forgive, forget and move on.  They don't pay any further attention to it, and, by golly, neither should I! This refers to my mistakes.

Then I thought, is my core-being evolving? Now this is a new concept, a new idea, and I think, yes, he is.  It's reasonable that he is, otherwise, the vagaries of my choices, which exist because of free will, wouldn't make any difference.  His existence would be like an old movie, or television show re-run where the ending never changes and the characters don't develop any further.  We human beings are agents of that evolution.

Then I got into some strange territory.  The one writing here is a collective noun, known by (name.)  And everyone that knows him, has their own interpretation, or opinion, of him. Furthermore, all of them are based on incomplete information.

One aspect of (name) is a resident spirit, core-spirit, in this physical body, who has, and will continue to, live on in a timeless existence.  And, just like the physical world, of which (name) is a part, evolves everyday due to the choices of all living beings, so too does core-spirit because he, like it or not, is affected by the choices of not only his host being but also all the rest of the living beings with whom he comes in contact.

A basic resonant truth is that we are created in the image and likeness of the creator. Accepting that, we get a glimpse of the spiritual world by observing and examining the living organisms of the physical world.  Our large human organizations are, perhaps, likenesses of the spiritual world.  That brings on a whole plethora of possibilities.

Whoa, what I have just created in my mind is like a large mass of tangled string, a string without ends.  The qualities needed to untangle this mess are not available to me.  We have the tools of imagination and reasoning, but limits to them preclude understanding the entirety of what this thought attempts to describe. It behooves me to stop here.  It is as if I stumbled into a large pool and I don't know how to swim.

Evil in the World

 

Previously, I defined evil as excess.  Excess of almost any kind and it has been given a name, The Seven Deadly Sins. 

An aspect of evil that we have historically seen, and are seeing today, is when numbers of adherents to the excess (evil) unite to force it upon others, who otherwise would not ascribe to it.  Examples are slavery, and the accompanying  racism, which haunts us even today, but not in an organized manner, Nazism, where the organized evil took the goal of eliminating an entire race of people.  And now radical Islam in the form of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, et al and their oppression of women and anyone who doesn't ascribe to their belief, who will not rest until the state of Israel is eliminated. 

There is a bible story of a pack of demons who were wandering the neighborhood when they found a herd of swine, into which they inhabited, and then were driven off a cliff.  Racism, in the form of the CSA, Nazism, and now Iran and the H's, are those demons wandering the neighborhood, and they inhabited swine.  The CSA and Nazism were driven off cliffs, it is time now to do the same to Iran and the H's.

The individual grasshopper does very little damage, but transforms into a locust under certain conditions and swarms, causing devastating damage to agriculture. This is analogous to the individual slave owner, the individual Nazi, or the individual Islamic extremist.

The U.S. stopped locust swarms through a multifaceted approach: early warning systems, targeted insecticide use, crop and farming adaptations, and destruction of breeding grounds, all coordinated at local and national levels. ( The Civil War, WWII, America's war with Iran.)

Perhaps, a game plan for dealing with radical Islam, just as it was for the other great evils we have known. The U.S. has not had major swarms since the early 19th century.

Clues

Monumental works left behind by deceased civilizations offer clues indicating that prior inhabitants of Earth understood this world, and the universe in which it exists, better than we do.  And they seem to have accomplished this with just their brains and minds.  We don't know to what extent they used mathematics, if at all,  and the scientific method, beyond trial and error.  It seems they did not have computers or artificial intelligence, but they understood.  And we don't know how they reached that understanding.

For example, the meter was defined by the French Republic in 1793 as 1/10,000,000 the distance from the equator to the pole of the Earth.  Yet it appears in doorways of South American stonework that pre-dates  that definition by 400 years.  Was the unit of measure used long before it was defined by the French?

What we often have done, during our approximately 2500 years of civilization starting with the Greeks, is rediscover and redefine what was already known and understood by others.  We've added some to it, in mathematics, chemistry, medicine, et al, for examples.

There were civilizations in the Middle East that predate ours, some fragments of that knowledge may be extant in the people of that region.  Our religious and cultural differences seem to preclude our ever sharing that heritage and knowledge. 

All to often we lose the realization that we, those alive on Earth here in the 21st century, are not the first, not the smartest, not the best, and have much more to do to reach those same levels of understanding.

 

Into the Wilderness 2026

 For the period from Wednesday 2/18 until noon on Saturday 4/4, I will once again go into the Wilderness. This will be for the 9th time.  

The reasons are to come to grips with distraction, experience silence, constructive idleness, and develop the habit of working on aim as I continue to explore life and living.  I will only do the task at hand, whatever that may be.

The rules for Wilderness 2026:

I am idle unless I am working on Aim. 

I work only on Aim, items listed in Performance Planning or on other aim-related items that may come up as worthy of action.  On 3/1:  Chores are allowed in addition to doing aim related tasks. 

It is intended that I find things that require action and going out to do, as opposed to sedentary activities.

Reading, studying, or research on comedy, acting, and life-philosophy, however, are encouraged, especially at times that would otherwise be spent in distraction.

Continuing physical activity, such as daily exercise, golf, pool, and whatever others, is encouraged.

Social interaction is encouraged, especially where it concerns the acting and apartment communities.

The journal will be continued and used, as now, to record thoughts on life and living, and anything else that comes to mind.

Avoid scrolling on Internet feeds, limit Facebook and Email to acting related posts.  Developing presences on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are allowed.

There is to be no posting of opinions nor commenting on the posts of others.  The exception is for family members or where a response is required.

Viewing TV before 9PM is a no-no, and then only with my wife, or guests, to catch the news.

Puzzles are limited to one Sudoku and the Woodoku enigma du jour.

   Go to bed by 12:30 AM, daily.

It is now after Easter.  So, how'd it go?

It was more difficult than one would imagine doing nothing, unless it is related to Aim, or doing chores.  Then, along the way, I came across a blurb about savoring the good of what was happening and giving myself permission to play.  Play for me is fairly easily defined. There are some activities that are play and recognizing them and playing is a good thing. It feels good to play golf, shoot pool, do puzzles, and associate with others in card games, and conversations, even sitting and watching television and videos.  I changed my opinion of these activities from wasting time to enjoying life.

Another facet of this wilderness trek is my journal.  I wrote about 100 pages during the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter.  These are not log entries nor records of deeds, they are explorations of ideas and feelings that became apparent.  In every case, after unabashedly writing a full description of the situation, I would arrive at a conclusion, which would relieve the anxiety and provide a rational way to deal with it in the future.

Upon reflection, I conclude that this trek was well worth the effort.

Ground Hog Day Updated--Again, and for the fourth time

This update is short, a short sentence.  The situation remains the same except she never goes out.  We move about the building but always inside. 

She's a warrior, going on to her fifth year since the fall.  Cannot say there's been improvement, but on the other hand there has been only a little decline.

As for me, the carers here allow me to go about my outside activities knowing she's in good hands.  This may be the last of the Ground Hog Day updates. If he sees his shadow, or not, let us hope for at least 6 more years of life.

Memento Mori

 Called a friend to talk about a new idea, and he said, for starters out of the blue, "I've got six months to live." A neighbor with liver cancer, has a year. Another friend, same floor down the hall, died today; "Eaten up with cancer." Carola is on borrowed time.   Any number of my friends and neighbors have already died.  I am the last of my generation on the Lina side.  There are several of the same generation on my mother's side because she had siblings who were younger and they had children.

Various...isms say to remember death, so that's what I am doing.  I wrote another blog post with my beliefs about it, On the Subject of Death, in March 2025.

As for me, I am 86 years old, in excellent health and condition. I should live a long time, genetically 100 years or more, barring any sort of accident.  That's less than fourteen more.  That many ago, would be 2012.  Thanks to my logs, history, and planning files, it can be reconstructed. It would be interesting, although it would be of no practical value.  The present is a good place to start.  Even that is an exercise in futility.

There are a few things of this body that could run amok: heart, lungs, bronchia, knees, feet.  The heart is genetic, the breathing apparatus from smoking, knees and feet from age, wear, and tear.  The only thing to do is continue treatments from appropriate doctors and maintain this healthy lifestyle.  There is no cause for alarm.

This one, the persona who is writing this, will cease to exist at death.  Core-being will continue and be a little better than he was when he came into this lifetime.  There will be some memories that we share that will be retained by him.  A lot of the good we did was important at the time but, even now, much of it has faded away.  The only things that haven't are the effects we've had on others, and, if that happened, those things may have passed along to others.  The most noticeable "others" being family.

Core-being is sufficiently apart from the rest of the being (us) that there's little or nothing known about him, his intentions, his aims.  There have been some hints, during this lifetime, of where he has been in the past, the kinds of activities in which he was involved.  I have identified some of them in past writings, but as to his job, his aim, his goals, we (the rest of the being) don't have a clue.

We can only hope that Core-being will share some knowledge of himself with us before the end of this lifetime.  We can only wonder if, and how, this will occur.  Will it be subtle familiarity as we have experienced in different locations? Will it be Voila! moments when we realize a heretofore unknown fact? Will it be memories, like watching a movie of this being doing what Core-being was doing, but on a more meaningful level of understanding?

We don't know any of this and we may not even trust it if we were to be given such information.  Core-being may pragmatically know all of this and say, "Why bother? when the body dies, it's over, for that one anyway."

Still, we would like to know, but somehow, I don't think we will.  That would imply an emotional level, which Core-being may not have.  The death of this body will be like the death of any other animal that has been a part of our living arrangement.  After a period of grieving, however long or short it may be, Core-being will move on.

If he is, as we suspect, a member of a spiritual hierarchy, he may be assigned to a new host.  There is so much we don't understand, and I'm OK with that.  It is like being outside a large office building and seeing an employee of that company.  There is no clue of the intricacies of that company by seeing one employee out of context.

I think I understand death, and I am emotionally prepared for it.  I'll defer it a long as I can, but when the time comes, I'll go, more or less, willingly.