Pert's Axioms, Analogies, and Aphorisms

[pert -5]

Religious extremists.  These words generate a lot of hate as of late.  Every religion harbors its fair share of extremists.  Christians have the Crusades, and I'll be honest, I'm no expert on the Crusades so perhaps those wars were fought for more legitimate reasons other than religious bigotry.  I dunno.  We also have the Inquisitions and the various witch hangings.  I'm not sure if the Caste system of India (Hinduism) could be called extremist.  It should be.  Any Hindu worth his salt should be aware that every single point of existence is a commensurate aspect of Brahman.  To say one person is better than another person is to deny any fruitfulness that the Hindu doctrines can afford, riddled with superstitious nonsense though some of them are.  The Muslim concept of Jihad.  In the hands of extremists this has become one of the most vile, hated concepts that people can think of.  But outside of extremist circles, the word fetters itself to nothing sinister at all.  One of the most famous examples of Jihad:  the American Revolution.  Muslims don't like when I say that, because they feel it's their word.  But it's the same, exact concept.  To exhibit defiance in the face of one who oppresses you.  That is the meaning of Jihad.  It's not, "kill with impunity," or any hate-mongering crap like that.  Trust me.  Buddhist extremists exist in theory, but in practice, the moment they become extremists they wouldn't be considered Buddhists.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my little spiel, here in the Off Topic section.  Please feel free to help yourself to the refreshments and respond with any comments, criticisms, or questions that well up inside of you as a result of reading this.  Or that welling up could be caused by the refreshments, I used cocaine instead of sugar to make the punch.  See ya!

[S. Earl Martin]

Ignorance in any situation weather religious or social is one of the main reasons we have hatred and prejudice. When we start thinking us vs them. It is the start of conflict. It should be just us. Love thy neighbor. Love thy enemy. A lot of people say it, but not very many do it. Most conflicts in the world can be traced to self importance and greed. Peace.

[pert -5]

Exactly.  That Us vs. Them mentality comes about due to that E-G-O virus I was writing about elsewhere.  Now, for sure, my definition of E-G-O deviates from Freud's, and I'm OK with that.  I define it as any thought which thinks that one's awareness has any objective meaning while giving identity to that awareness.  I do want to say, however, that the Ego is not bad or evil.  At all.  It is one's perception of it that needs to be altered, not the thing itself.  Just show the Ego a little love and discipline because it really isn't a monster.

And yea didst my Ego fall prey to the yoke of my will, yea didst it fall, and it was mine, and it was cooled.

[S. Earl Martin]

People use many excuses to do harm to other people. The Soviet Union was an atheist state. They tried to do away with religion. So instead of using their religion as an excuse? They used the opposite, but it still had the same result. One group exerting their will over another and gaining power so they benifited  financially. Selflessness and humility is the sign of someone who is enlightened. Not perfect, but trying to be. Peace!

[pert -5]

"An affluent vocabulary is not a symptom of intelligence, but rather of being well-read."
- pert -5

[S. Earl Martin]

Excellent point. People make the mistake of thinking just because someone uses $20 words they are intelligent. It is like people assuming people who wear glasses are intelligent. The proof is in the pudding as the saying goes.

[pert -5]

Knowledge represents what you know.  Intelligence is directly proportionate to the willingness and capability to learn.  Knowledge is the object, and intelligence is the "physical science" that manipulates it.  Learning garners knowledge, which is stored in the silo called Memory.  The thresher which harvests potential memories is called Perception.  Intelligence is like a filter between the thresher and the silo.

[pert -5]

Intelligence is like a filter between the thresher and the silo.

Higher intelligence garners easier passage....


I believe that it would be advantageous for every theist/believer to experience an intensely solemn religious ceremony while under the effects of an entheogen.  This would, in many cases, instill the degree of perception necessary to make such ceremonies efficacious.  It is not the physical attendance to a church which facilitates spirituality.  Rather, it is the change that these activities serve to bring about within one's psyche that have any meaning.  Willfully directed; always willfully directed, of course.

Here's a question for Enigma, or someone similarly suited:
Do you think that the practice of going to church and worshiping as a group stimulates the release of endorphins which, in turn, affects the "high"/group mentality that goers accrue?  Like how "Fire and Brimstone" speech interacts with the brain.