the warfare is mental

For The Visual Learners Making Jokes In Back Of Class

I'm a big fan of art, and I really think art's importance is overlooked in (a)theist discussion, so I intend to focus a bit more on art in the immediate future. In order to encourage the necessary discipline, I've decided to introduce a new post series called Visual Arguments. Of course, many bloggers include relevant imagery in their posts - for example, one might use a picturesque scene of stars and galaxies littered across the cosmos to evoke a feeling of sheer inexplicability - but what I'm aiming for here will be something much deeper.

Declaring Santa Claus an equal competitor with God in the marketplace of potentially existing objects is tantamount to declaring Russell's Teapot an equal competitor with dark matter in the marketplace of potentially true astronomical facts. It's just plain pedestrian.
-cl 

I happened to come across this late-90's painting by Robert Williams (founder of Juxtapoz Magazine). Aside from being a master painter with the tenacity of entropy, Williams is also an outstanding writer and gifted logician. I certainly feel privileged to count myself among those who've spoken to the man personally, even if for just a brief moment. [/fanout] 

Anyways, the point of my first visual argument is that I thought detail shot might put things into perspective for SI, PhillyChief, JohnEvo and the countless other coy and flippant atheists who resort to ULFSM arguments, of which today's Santa Claus argument from SI exists in the same set: denigrating rhetorical devices used to convince any followers that their deliverer has defeated the God-dummy. 

Ironically, if it were the late-nineteenth century, I'd willingly bet my last dollar that SI, PhillyChief, JohnEvo and their ilk would all exist in the set of coy and flippant atheists who would have erroneously selected the Piltdown Man out of the following line-up when approached with the question, "Which of these gentlemen really exists?"

*Detail, "Requiem for a Fraudulent Ancestor", Robert Williams from Through Prehensile Eyes 

"At the right and left sides of this picture, purple backdrops cover from top to bottom, forming the ends of the picture with cartoon silhouettes of running cavemen brandishing their clubs. Up in the left corner within a gold-lined oval cameo is a close-up portrait of our venerable champion. His curious features correlate with the odd bones that were cobbled together to perpetuate his existence. The high, round head that indicated intelligence, with the small nose, but protruding snout, gave placement to the enormous ape jaw. Also included are blond locks that would insinuate a certain degree of aesthetic appeal. The gold frame carries a banner that tells all: "Ol' Piltdown Buzz, the man that never was." 

"...[T]he dark green panel at the bottom puts the Piltdown Man in his true historic context. Our legendary figure at last stands with his equals. Along side the Piltdown Man appears Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Paul Bunyan, the Sand Man, and finally, the Boggy Man - here he will always dwell." 
-Robert Williams

Public Challenge To Atheists: Why Believe In What Can Only Prove False?

Every now and again I meditate on the fact that the atheist / naturalist / materialist position cannot be empirically vindicated. By atheist / naturalist / materialist position, I mean the Epicurean idea that death entails the complete and final cessation of consciousness - that after we die, there will be no more thought, no more experience, no more anything.

One of the many disadvantages of this world view is that no other option can potentially befall it other than falsification. That is to say, even if this position is correct, we can never prove it, for how could we ever be conscious of the cessation of consciousness to prove that such was indeed the case? You need consciousness to prove anything, and indeed, the atheist / naturalist / materialist position cannot be empirically vindicated. It can only prove false, because if even one iota of consciousness continues in any form after death, the idea is effectively bunk.

And so the challenge is for any atheist, naturalist or materialist to satiate my curiosity by reasonably or at least politely answering the following questions: Why believe in an idea whose only possible empirical verification is disproof? What of the hypocrisy in committing yourself to a position that claims to rely on proof as the highest measure of truth when the position itself cannot possibly be proven?

Taking A Hike & Definition Of Purpose

Yep, I'm going to say something totally cheesy that I would usually expect only from the most unconvincing, mass-marketed self-help guru out: Life is like taking a hike. Whether we wander aimlessly or hike with purpose is of course up to us. I can respect both approaches and I can find something positive to glean from all hikers, whether they approach the hike nomadic and existential like Kerouac, or focused and determined like Obama.

Once we have a sense of purpose, the next step becomes fully integrating daily life in accordance with that purpose. To maximize the benefit of anything it is helpful to prepare the mind for the task at hand. Before undertaking any task, one could ask the question, ‘What is most conducive to this purpose?’

Mathematics requires a different mindset than sex. 

On The Doctrines Of Freedom And Individualism

I went and paid a visit to my friend The Ghost today, and I'm glad I did. Whenever I need respite from the stupidity of polemical arguments and fruitless banter, I visit him. The Ghost writes about real talk, straight-up soul-stuff that forces you to step back and examine yourself, your actions, and the world around you. And more importantly, how each of those things intertwine in their inherently symbiotic, causal relationships.

For a long time I've had a certain train of thoughts going through my mind, thoughts about freedom, individualism, and their intrinsic weaknesses. See, don't get me wrong, I love freedom in any and all forms - freedom of speech, freedom of physical mobility, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom to smoke and drink what I want, and perhaps most of all, the pure and unadulterated freedom I feel when tearing through the streets riding my skateboard, where there are no rules, just pragmatic and graceful movements motivated by friendship and fun.

White Holes

At the risk of sounding like a completely arrogant putz, I still have to share this. Lately I'd been thinking a bit about cosmological matters and I independently arrived at the idea of white holes. I thought to myself it was just speculation and that I shouldn't even pursue the matter. A week later I saw another one of those History Channel segments which often contain variant mixtures of scientific truth and fiction. At any rate, during a discussion on the hypothesis that black hole type forces are responsible for anomalous events occurring around the Bermuda Triangle, the writers noted Einstein actually included white holes in his work. Now what exactly any of this has to do with panspermia, abiogenesis, the origins of the universe or even history for that matter is an entirely different question, one that might be better directed towards the executive producers of the show, but the point is that I was unaware Einstein actually proposed such a thing in his treatises on black holes. The bad news is that's no longer my independent idea, but then again I guess that's not all that bad to have what you thought was your own idea confirmed by such a prestigious researcher, as opposed to say, a frontier science nut-job. The whole scenario got me thinking that we're all capable of doing science, and that we should all trust our intelligent convictions to some extent. Maybe not everyone can do the research part of science, which requires tools, time and technical knowledge of course not everybody will have, but the hypothesizing and critical thinking aspects of science are natural human endeavors anyone can benefit from if they try.

On Wisdom

Why might wisdom be defined as more valuable than wealth? Money comes and goes, and with it troubles. Wisdom provides consistency amidst variety; it anchors or adheres to principle. The wise life is the better life regardless of secondary circumstances such as wealth, status or current level of comfort. The wise life cultivates not blind or superficial happiness amidst misfortune, but serene and transcendent understanding whenever possible. For when one is living wisely, it matters little whether one is rich or poor; weekend warrior or professional athlete; far along in their career or nubile; single or happily married. Any combination of those in the absence of wise living can cease to be blissful and quickly turn sour.

Are You an Alligator?

When an alligator is born, it's basically at the bottom of the food chain. Any one of a number of predators can easily blot the reptile out of existence, but after a certain length of time, the alligator arrives at the top of the food chain. Although it's the most glamorized in the modern media, instant and monumental success in a given endeavor is not the only road to success. Don't be discouraged if it seems like you are fighting to stay alive and progress is coming slow. If you are an alligator, all you have to do is keeping doing what you're doing, which is being an alligator, waiting it out, and before you know it, you'll be at the top of the food chain, feasting.

On Right Livelihood

I was on the bus riding home the other day when I saw this truck. It was no ordinary truck, but super blinged-out and all fancy looking: you know, the same kind of truck a guy with small-man syndrome buys to compensate for his lack of power, the same kind of truck that sucks up diesel and spews wretched filth into the air and ultimately every corpuscle of the rest of us, the same kind of truck Jello Biafra pokes fun at in that Dead Kennedy's song about the jocks who beat up the "faggot" for throwing rocks. What caught my attention most were the mirrors: they had motors to automatically fold them in and out, which works well in a crowded city because streets are narrow and it's easy as pie to get your mirrors knocked off if you own a car.

As cool and convenient as those mirrors were, for some reason, this got me thinking about the Buddhist principle of right livelihood. Aside from paying our bills, dining our significant others and sedating our organisms, what is the real effect of our job in the world? How are we impacting all that is, was and will be? Do we toil endlessly only to increase material convenience, with the ultimate end being every person on Earth enjoying First World prosperity at the expense of emotional or intellectual development? Does our hard labor serve to create multi-million dollar fantasies that are essentially worthless to the advancement of humanity? Do other forms of life suffer because of our chosen professions? How much material waste does our means of making a living create?

Sure, we all gotta pay the bills, but when it comes down to it, does our livelihood bring tangible improvements to the human condition, either in the life of another individual or in the world at large? If not, have we figured out a way to improve the human condition in whatever livelihood we find ourselves in, whether it's flipping burgers, selling car insurance or telling jokes?

Walking Down Stairs

Earlier today I walked down the stairs. I've actually got a few different styles of walking down stairs that I employ depending on how I'm feeling at any given moment. Sometimes I run down them, skipping stairs as I go. The inherent danger is readily apparent. A really hip youth marketer could term this style "extreme stair walking" and probably create a whole new subgenre in the useless sports industry. I could see it in the X-Games now; heaps of would-be athletes clad in dorky-looking protective gear raining down staircases of various heights and grades, all the while sponsored by soda companies, wireless providers and hair product manufacturers.

What's Your Boiling Point?

It's common knowledge that a frog will remain in a container of water that is being brought slowly to a boil. In fact, the frog will remain there until the temperature gets high enough to cause death. While we humans may be quick to exclaim, "Stupid frog, leap out of the water," before we pride ourselves on our "intelligence" and demean the poor frog for it's apparent lack thereof, we ought to suspend judgment of our fellow creation and try to see things from a more honest perspective.

Wisdom from Sherlock Holmes

Though we may believe in certain foundational truths we must never close our minds to the possibility that we may be wrong. Often a different perspective yields a different perception, or as the great Sherlock Holmes put it “…circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing…it may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different…there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

Twenty Bucks & A Full Tank of Gas

So why exactly did I come here with only twenty bucks and a full tank of gas? The reasons are many, but mainly to get away from the same old routine and experience each day fresh and anew again.

A major reason people snap in the modern world is due to the rising pressures of making a living while simultaneously maintaining one's sanity and personal integrity. Freed from these burdens, one is more readily afforded the option of waking up every day with a clean mental slate, similar to childhood.

Why do our mental states shift whenever we take a vacation? What prevents one from operating at home with the same at-ease carelessness one experiences while being on the road?

It may sound cliché and idealistic to you, but the road frees me. It's a trip how easily and imperceptibly that vermin complacency can turn a man's life into an unimportant little charade. Think of how we often fall into monotonous routine; the same reactions to the same actions sprung from the same reactions as yesterday almost every day. Certainly such an existence, aside from any positive benefits it may provide, stifles creativity and encourages melancholy.

At the end of one particular day I posted up and cracked a beer in front of the TV at my friend's apartment.

A bit later on some random channel, which wasn't even one of those preacher channels, a sermon comes on by some dude with his entourage that didn't quite portray the stereotypical televangelism idiosyncrasies, although strongly contending. At any rate, I listened to this guy talk for a few because I'll usually listen to anybody until they rub me the wrong way or it's my turn to talk.

He didn't deliver the archetypal "fire and brimstone" that's deeply ingrained in the American psyche. No judgment, no pulpit-pounding condemnation at other people...rather, his whole premise was actually sorta cool: that aside from dealing with our legitimate problems, God also wants us to enjoy the good things along with all blessings and opportunities in our lives.

I came to the conclusion that this was exactly what goes on when we're on the road. When we're on the road we enjoy the simple things: the scenery, the people we meet and maybe even the random snippets of passing conversation we hear in the convenience stores. A mind at ease and peace does not resist what is; rather, it accepts the spontaneity in life, and when we're on the road we tend to take whatever comes our way with a grain of salt and loosen the closed-fisted grip we often exert over our own lives. 

The master learns to be always on the road, always carefree and never unduly emotionally attached or overexcited. True liberation is internal and ever-present. The relative toil created under the burdens of existence does not justify a discontent or ungrateful attitude towards life. The situation of work does not have to conquer our souls; we have the option of counting our blessings or priviliges and being content regardless of the circumstances.

Be always on the road, at your job on the road, in your mundane domestic activities on the road, always on the road..and why not? For in the macrocosm, indeed our brief sojourn on Earth is nothing but a weekend trip with twenty bucks and a full tank of gas.