Silence and duties
Is it possible to live a good life and see reality as it is without daily silent meditation/reflection on yourself and the world?
Can we even say that it is our duties as rational beings to practice daily times of silence?
Religious people talk about four important times of the day, ie morning, midday, evening, and night (before sleeping). It seems to me that we some kind of silence during those times of the day. Those who work at night have to adjust a bit. Sometimes we can onlyhave inner silence during the day but still practice inner silence.
It seems that we live our lives based on our anxious thoughts rather than real thoughts that come from silence.
What do you think?
Can we even say that it is our duties as rational beings to practice daily times of silence?
Religious people talk about four important times of the day, ie morning, midday, evening, and night (before sleeping). It seems to me that we some kind of silence during those times of the day. Those who work at night have to adjust a bit. Sometimes we can onlyhave inner silence during the day but still practice inner silence.
It seems that we live our lives based on our anxious thoughts rather than real thoughts that come from silence.
What do you think?
Comments (4)
Quoting musicpianoaccordion
Silence is a mental health "duty", I'd say, because we're (mostly) affective, or feeling, creatures - after all, at most, only during these last couple of centuries (out of about two thousand centuries as 'modern homo sapiens') has so much of the species been numbed and captive to the incessantly deafening roar of urbanized & mass media cacophanies; (our) "rationality" seems, btw, only a dependent variable, or spandrel (Gould, Hume).
How do you define duty?
If you refrain from doing your duty would you say that it is a sin?
What does that mean?
It is, just not the best life according to all the sages and mystics I know.
It is more like being happy to be in Socrates' cave.
It is hard work to get enlightened or push ones apotheosis. It is well worth the price though.
As a Gnostic Christian, I used Jesus as my mantra to go within.
Here is the real way to salvation that Jesus taught.
Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Allan Watts explain those quotes in detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alRNbesfXXw&feature=player_embedded
Here is what Jesus said to those who did not agree with him.
Luke 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Jesus is a myth, but the words put into his mouth were not all wasted.
Regards
DL