Category: Blog

Personal experience articles.

  • I Was Wrong All Along

    I Was Wrong All Along

    Blog Entry: Unlike most articles on Mentatul, this post details a personal experience, hence, it is posted underneath the Blog^ category.

     

    “There may be said to be two classes of people in the world; those who constantly divide the people of the world into two classes, and those who do not.”

    The game of life has countless species, tribes and actors, mixing and dancing through an infinity of stages(*). Given this complexity, truth is a multi-dimensional riddle that changes its definition and solution from one perspective to another, and from one target to the other.

    Technology advances, ethical standards change, cultures collapse, civilizations emerge, species die out and new ones appear. History is written by the winners. A heretic yesterday, a hero today, a villain tomorrow.

    And this game of life can be so intoxicating, one can get (almost) hopelessly lost chasing reflections in Indra’s net^. But along the way, things happen, and the illusion breaks apart. It is during one such moment when I truly understood and integrated how wrong I was. It was as if living “I know that I know nothing”^.

    Up until not long ago, I had negative thoughts about many politicians. I disliked many corporations. I despised advertisement and cultural programming through mass-media and the mainstream entertainment industry. Now, after many Mentatul articles, I feel I’m finally able to admit how wrong I was to let myself clouded by negative emotions when, in fact, it was all part of the diversity of life. Everything and everybody has a right to exist, and we may thank their existence for they give shape to the values that we hold dear.

    From this day forward, I shall write from a state of accepting the complexity of the game of life. I’ve made just enough mistakes to realize politicians make mistakes. I was deluded often enough to now understand that businessmen sometimes are deluded.

    The worst politician was once an innocent baby. The vilest corporation was once a hopeful startup. Things get blown out of proportion mostly because the game of life this civilization is apparently engaged in playing^ seems to thrive on brutal separation. Don’t get me wrong (even if I am wrong :D), it’s good to have sides in any game. Unfortunately, picking the “wrong” side in the current civilization can be a very miserable affair.

    This may be due to the survival instinct, but if so, I feel that it is time to overcome it. We’re fine, damn it! We’ve survived. Time to invest energy in something else. For example, evolving our civilization towards a more interesting game of life.

    And when I say “evolving”, I don’t mean it in the very direct way trans-humanists^ see it. It’s more like a more vague and gradual process which is more akin to Wu-wei than a focused, concentrated effort (which I feel will only lead to more destruction, pretty much in the lines of our past centuries of “beating nature into submission”, a task we’ve been “good” at but are starting to feel the backlash from).

    Read about Wu-wei^ or listen to this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtGtqmC5wU4^

    So does this mean one is supposed to sit idly while greedy corporations destroy ecosystems? Of course not. But the way we go about enacting the next change in our civilization’s DNA will determine if we revert back to the bloodshed of revolution of if we are ready for the ecstasy of evolution.

    There are many ways indeed of enacting peaceful change. If you have a job, start by reading Brave New Work^. It will awake you to the potential locked within our outdated way of working. If you want to contribute to evolution, start with “peace” and “empathy”. Realize that corporations are only as greedy as the stock market forces them to be^.

    Most importantly, peaceful change is enacted by renouncing the obsession to control things. As the saying goes, “relax, nothing is under control”. And yet…

    “Realizing that our inability to control life is not the same as having no way to navigate it, leads to freedom and liberation. Just because I can’t control the sea doesn’t mean I can’t learn how to swim in it.”
    – Rami Shapiro

    With less desire for control, I salute you. With more awareness of how wrong I was (and will perhaps continue to be, but hopefully less and less), I salute you. I salute you traveler, and thank you for your presence. Now, shall we proceed towards a beautiful Universe?

    Fractal Wrongness
    Fractal Wrongness

    And despite the fact that I’ve been wrong all along, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop writing and being wrong :). It’s great to find new ways of being wrong every day! That’s how we learn.

    Some additional notes about this post

    When I wanted to find who is the author of the quote I started this post with, the first link I found was an article trying to locate the source^, which shows just how hard it is to sometimes pinpoint a wise saying. So, I guess that quote can already be considered a proverb.

    I started the article by saying that “The game of life features countless species, tribes and actors, mixing and dancing through an infinity of stages.”

    I’m particularly happy with this phrase, because of the word “stages”. The word “stage” has two main definitions^. The word matches what I wanted to say in a beautiful way. I originally meant to say “theatrical stages”, but the fact is that in the game of life, the species, tribes and actors all go through an infinity of evolutive stages as well. Even the stages go through stages :). Here’s to the hidden gems of the English language.

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  • Be and Let Be

    Be and Let Be

    Blog Entry: Unlike most articles on Mentatul, this post details an entirely subjective perspective, hence, it is posted underneath the Blog^ category.

     

    We’ve accumulated millennia of philosophy and principles, of dogmas and history. We’ve seen science clash with religion and gained an enormous amount of self-reflection through sometimes painful confrontation. We’ve been given commandments, laws, rules, methodologies and all manner of tools for self-improvement. And yet sometimes all is needed for peace is just four words.

    After years of philosophizing and ethical debates, the beautiful simplicity of these simple words hit me out of the blue one day. Hundreds of hours spent “debating life” crystalized into what I consider to be an easy to remember (and perhaps harder to follow) principle.

    These four simple words represent the very essence of peace. When this tolerant and empathic principle is applied, the result is a reduction in negative feelings and a strong movement towards friendship and understanding. My life became more positive since I started repeating these words in my head before getting upset on somebody, or when I realize I harbor any negative feelings towards somebody.

    Instinct and free will

    There will always be friction in society. This is a healthy, constructive process. But friction can also lead to excessive heat. Would it not be wonderful if, before it hurts, we can call upon a peaceful mantra? We can relish in the understanding that nobody is perfect so… just be and let be. It is this behavior that I strive to offer to those around me, and it is the same that I wish to receive.

    Does this mean that we should allow people who do not live by this mantra just step over us? Of course not, because that would not be something we’d do instinctually. The verb “be” is very much related to instinct. To be means exactly that. It goes beyond thought and down to the very core of our being. Life will defend itself if threatened. That is precisely why we are alive.

    But does this mean that we should live according to instinct only? Assuming we actually have free will (that’s a debate for another time), its gift is a certain freedom from instinct. To “be and let be” is a way to guide this freedom towards a peaceful and harmonious life. Humanity has made it this far because sometimes people have put their self aside and acted for the greater good. And assuming we don’t have free will (just self-awareness that makes us think we do), then this mantra of peace is even more meaningful. If we’re just creatures of instinct, then it’s important to understand that others are too. This realization will lead to a calmer life, without having to sacrifice our own well-being.

    The One

    Several schools of thought and traditions indicate that we all come from the same source. The current consensus in the science world is that this Universe has been born of a singularity of everything. Subsequently, the death of a star made our existence possible. Religions also speak of single sources of life and common destinations where life returns.

    Given the repeated motif of common ancestry, it is easy to see ourselves as parts of the same whole. In other words: we are one. We may play our individual roles for now, but at a certain level, we are one. Let’s take another leap of faith: if we are all one, then you are me and I am you. And then, however I act towards you, I in fact act towards myself. If at one point, we will all be one again then I want to act towards you in a way that is respectful and loving. And so we should act towards ourselves, because love starts in our insides and because we need to always keep into consideration our needs as well.

    The hall of mirrors

    The paradox of existence lies in duality. Existence can be incredibly simple: just be. Yet, within life lies infinite complexity, forever unfolding for as long as we adventure inside the hall of mirrors. And that’s as it should be. Otherwise we’d be bored to death. But sometimes it’s good to go back to the core, to center ourselves and find peace.

    Perhaps even the question of having free will is a paradox of duality. Is there any free will? Perhaps it’s a matter of our own free will to decide if we have free will or not. But maybe the discussion about free will should simply be left well enough alone. Just be and let be. Less philosophical struggle and more enjoying of what is.

    Back to simplicity

    “Be and just be” is a savior of time and energy. There are fewer rules required, there’s less thinking and less keeping track of personal score boards. It’s not surprising at all: being is simple. But it’s even simpler to let others be as well.

    We are born with an endless supply of tolerance and love. What our society needs in order to progress to a whole new level is a style of education based on empathy and understanding. This should integrate and reinforce our natural-born constructive tendencies. The light-motif should be: try to see things from the other’s perspective and if things don’t make sense: dig deeper.

    Especially in this fast-moving world where we scavenge every second and ounce of energy, being more efficient is a life savior. Help and ask for help, relish in the support society gives. Combine this with the ability to let negative feelings pass over and disappear back into nothingness. Even better, as we analyze negative feelings and the effect they had on us, we gain the ability to extract understanding from these feelings and turn this into a source of energy for progress.

    I am grateful that you were here.

    I love the minutes you’ve given me.

    I will strive to be and let be.

     

    This article is the third part of The “Art of Peace” Trilogy^.

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