synthesis

Sure it does. That moment between what you sense as reality (Reality altered by you senses) and when your critical thinking engages (your mind begins ...

What I found most comforting about meditation practice (and I came to it from a very serious foray into philosophy that left me completely burned-out)...

Evolution doesn't explain a lot of things and the senses are very poorly understood (if at all). Everything is wrong, so I can definitely agree with y...

The great thing about Zen (meditation) is that it refuses to be anything but experiential. Since I am not a teacher, I do not really feel qualified to...

Very interesting. I try not to get too caught up in intellectual particulars because they come and go like everything else. I was using portal in a ge...

I am not sure what you mean by that.

It is what it is. Many people have little interest or experience "non-thinking." I've been a dedicated Zen student for the past 30+ years, so meditati...

A long time ago people thought all kinds of crazy things and made it work. The things we believe today will be just as crazy to the folks in the futur...

Considering the issues involved, thinking is an incredibly over-rated (albeit necessary) activity. But since this is where our 'self' hangs, it's pret...

How is anybody sure of anything? And why would you want to be? Facts are relative to a specific set of circumstances that can only occur one time, so ...

If you mean Absolute Truth, then I would say these do exist but are not intellectually accessible. Intellectually, you can have near-truths (like it i...

From what I have read since the 80's (and anecdotally), government employees now far out earn the private sector (plus generous benefits). It used to ...

I suppose everybody has their own story. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Gus, can you titrate that down to a short sentence of two so I can understand what you are trying to say?

I think your in the right place. :) Enjoyed the conversation, Jack. Good luck and look forward to chatting again soon.

As always, your only option is the play the hand you are dealt. The system is very broken for a number of reasons we are all familiar with, so not bei...

You are absolutely correct, but in general, and for this conversation, the overall winners are governments and corporations, the losers, small busines...

The funny thing is, Jack, even if you are able to eloquently provide the latest and greatest explanations of this, that, and the other thing, how long...

The most wonderful day of my life was when I finally realized that there was no way to "figure it out." Things are the way they are for reasons that t...

First off, we'll know a lot more about what went down five years hence but everything the government does (or any other institution, for that matter) ...

You just happen to be more forthcoming in a forum that pits ego against ego. I've participated in these discussion groups for decades and it never fai...

Would it be government if there was not a generous helping of each of these?

I think we're all in the same boat.

I believe that when the costs of the lock-downs are fully revealed, it will be seen a policy miscalculation without precedent. Vulnerable populations ...

The bottom-line is that people want something for nothing, so when it comes to political affiliation, pick your poison...liberals who want their free ...

The cure for philosophy is acceptance (via seeing things as clearly as is possible). As a matter of fact, it's the cure for pretty much everything. Im...

What question isn't ridiculous? The nature of thinking in and of itself is pretty absurd in that reality stares us right in the face yet we refuse to ...

Equal amount of good and bad in everything. Has any human concept fostered more compassion and more suffering on this planet than God?

I am not sure what you might mean by an emotional relationship with your own thinking, but I believe the key with any thinking is to let it come and l...

Take complete responsibility for yourself through constructive activity (proper diet, regular exercise, work hard, pray/meditate, and sleep well) and ...

I would bet that if you had a currency printing press in your basement that there might be a few bogus bills floating around in your wallet, as well. ...

If you look at Western society, in general, you see narcissism on a massive scale. Despite all the various reasons for this, the results are pretty cl...

I and many others have been following this since the 70's. How it has possibly gotten to this point is beyond me. Obviously, there is no way to pay ba...

Studies overwhelming suggest that children raised in two parent homes are more successful in every possible category. It comes down to what's more imp...

Remember, women and families existed before Karl Marx. If you choose to see everything through this filter of class struggle giving way to identity po...

People need to empower themselves by choosing that path which makes the most sense for themselves and their families.

Thank you for the very short history of the previous several decades, and although I could comment on a number of things, no need to beat a dead horse...

Miguel, it seems like people have a tremendous amount of time and energy invested in their own appreciation of society and how it should operate. Just...

Empowering the individual means providing the greatest opportunities to work towards financial independence. All systems (groups) want to do just the ...

Spartacus is dead so I really don't see any other super-heroes types arising to the call anytime soon. What's needed is several adults from the Elite ...

Killing the geese that have been laying your golden eggs seems like a poor strategy. If I were one of those folks, I would have a pow-wow with a bunch...

Master race? You must be watching too much TV. I am referring to the elite in government, corporations (and to a lesser extent, the thought-leaders in...

It would be difficult not coming to the conclusion that empowering the individual is the best hope for mankind. Groups are organized to essentially sc...

The system is Nature, not capitalism. Yes, people and every living organism on this planet are expendable. This would seem to be a fairly basic truth,...

There hasn't been real economic growth in this country since the 60's. It's mostly debt, counterfeiting, and statistical gymnastics designed to make t...

Such as?? Old man,eh? You'll will be me soon enough!

Not much you can do about your age. You speak like the bright young person I am sure you are. People who are in favor of capitalism (and I've debated ...

Just as important is that under a gold standard, international trade is balanced in gold. Had this not changed in 1971, this would be an entirely diff...

There has not been an economic crisis since the recession of the early 90's (and even that one was semi-bailed). I am talking about a proper depressio...

You need to widen your perspective a little bit. Most young people act as if the ten years they can remember the the entirety of human history. We hap...