Flower Power!

"Death is not the worst that can happen to men." -Plato

"To care only for well-being seems to me positively ill-bred. Whether it's good or bad, it is sometimes very pleasant, too, to smash things." -Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." As quoted in the Kalama Sutra

When I do occasionally pull my head up from my own trance like inner monologues, I notice that I am not the only one in a hypnotized state. Often, I find myself saddened by the zombies that have been molded from those with potential for love and creation. Maybe I am being too judgmental? It just seems that unless you keep weather as the main topic of discussion, most people really don't care or have the desire to shake their glass enclosures and really I suppose that is fine, but if you notice, a lot of these people will also look down on you for bringing up alternative topics. If you are employed, more than likely if you look in your employee handbook or whatever you will find a section saying you are not to speak about politics, religion, or any questionable subjects. This is probably a good thing, because when one's beliefs are questioned and possibly shown to be false by a stranger, that person may get very angry. Imagine how many have been injured and killed because of their philosophical nature. I am lucky to live in a somewhat alternative area, so I can get away with a lot without incurring the wrath of mobs without thumbs. Violence, and even anger, is rarely necessary. I often wonder what we can do. If you ask a bunch of people why they think everyone is so stupid, they will give you an answer that seems to fall into two categories. They say: what do you mean, you are so negative! Or, I agree or disagree for reason X. It is all opinion I suppose. A long time ago I was angry and frustrated about something or other, and I asked a random person, "Why don't people ask why?" And they quickly responded, "Why should we ask why?" I couldn't answer.

"So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?" -Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

It is easy to judge people, to say they are wrong or stupid or whatever, but all in all, who really knows. We are all in the same canoe, hot and cold are the same thing. If a person is nice, and compassionate with me, I don't care what they believe. They can tell me that the universe is going to go through an evolution of consciousness in 2012, and I will tell them its possible and it sounds interesting. We should never just bash what someone believes in, unless we can logically prove it false. One could say the world is actually flat, or that it doesn't exist at all. Another might say that with tools and math, we can learn exactly what the earth is shaped like.

Analogy of the divided line (Taken from wikipedia, not very in depth, i would suggest reading it from Plato himself.)

This is a very interesting idea to me. I have a hard time understanding it fully, but I am trying. Plato says something like: reality is divided into two parts, one of which is the physical visible world that we perceive with our senses, the other is the intelligible world that exists in our minds or elsewhere. Read and study Plato. The link is a short read.

The Emerald Tablet
Merkaba