The Next Step in Human Evolution

[Jethro Tull]

Global communication has made it possible to see the big picture, to see the effect of our lifestyle on others and the environment. Along with awareness of the big picture, communication technology has also made it possible to define and spread the truth of life. The truth is being spread on the Internet, and the veil is lifting. We are starting to see that we do not have to fight each other to survive. Instead, we must come together and embrace Oneness as a global community, the human race.

Page 4 of The Present (with religion) (http://www.thetruthcontest.com):

Common denominator: The truth is the only thing that can unite all human beings. It is what we all have in common, and that will never change. There is only one sky for all of us. Everyone eats and breathes and is born and dies etc. The ultimate truth is universal truth; it is the same for everyone, everywhere, and it always has been and always will be. We have to see the big picture of life.

Only the truth can stop the wars and make the world the paradise it can be.

Reason: We can now use our ability to reason, deductive logic and extrapolation of the known evidence to know and understand things the evidence does not reveal directly, such as life after death. We have progressed enough to know and understand the fundamental truth of life. It will transform us and our world.


Our adversary is not other people, but the invisible beast within, our animal minds. The drawing early on in The Present makes the beast visible. Our emotions are running wild, and we are lost in the fantasies and illusions of the mind, living in the extremes. In this time of relative peace and prosperity, we have a small window of opportunity to overcome the animal mind, a chance to live as something more than an animal.

Mankind will never be able to live together in peace and harmony. It never has and never will. It is impossible, because it is not in mankind’s true nature. Mankind’s true nature is the nature of the beast. People can and do resist it, but it cannot be changed by resisting and repressing it. Only the truth can overcome it. Mankind will always act like mankind when push comes to shove, and push will always come to shove. When it happens, the majority of mankind will always behave like the animals they are, dragging everyone down to the animal level.

The Beast must die, and the only way to kill it is with the truth.

The only way to get rid of the beast is at the source. The beast must die for the spiritual being to be born. If the beast does not die, the whole human race will die. We are all in an undeclared mental war for this world.

People have it backwards; you are not reborn, the animal mind just dies.

A spiritual being is not really born, because it is always inside you; it is hidden by the mind. The spirit cannot be born, it is immortal, but the mind can and must die.

Your spirit is imprisoned by your own mind, and only the truth sets it free.

Now is the time: This is how we know that now is the time to see the ultimate truth; it is now or never. For the first time mankind can and will destroy itself.


It is now time to see the truth and accept it to take the next step in evolution. We have used our minds to change our outer environment to suit our desires and dreams, to create the world we live in today. Now, we have to use our minds to change our inner-environment; we need to use the truth to overcome our own minds. To change the world, we must change ourselves, as our world is just a reflection of us.

The mind will still be the key to the next step in evolution, but not by doing what it did in the past. It has to change for us to change.

There is a simple website with one goal; to define and spread the ultimate truth.

>>> The Truth Contest (http://www.thetruthcontest.com) <<<

There is an entry there, a free, online word document that lifts the veil and explains the next step in our evolution, from mankind into spiritual beings. Read "The Present" (with or without religion) to take a step forward in your spiritual evolution. The book shows us how we can create a Heaven on Earth by embracing truth, freedom, justice, prosperity, and God/Life, and by creating win-win situations with our investments.

The word “apocalypse” means to unveil, not the end of the world.

The meaning of the apocalypse is the opposite of what most people think. It does not mean the end of the world; it means the revealing of hidden secrets and the beginning of a heaven on earth. The apocalypse is starting now.


I'm not asking you to believe me, the author of this book, or anyone else. All that is asked is that you check it out for yourself and share your thoughts.

"Be a light unto yourself." - Buddha

[Tricky]

Hello Jethro Tull (henceforth JT for shortness sake) Thank you for posting a thread for the JREF rather than cutting and pasting. We appreciate it.


Global communication has made it possible to see the big picture, to see the effect of our lifestyle on others and the environment. Along with awareness of the big picture, communication technology has also made it possible to define and spread the truth of life.
While global communication has accomplished a lot, I do not believe that any "truth of life" has yet been established. There are lots of things we have learned, but they are based on evidence, not on anyone's concept of "truth".

The truth is being spread on the Internet, and the veil is lifting.
Lots of things are being spread on the internet, including Holocaust denial, racial hatred, sexual predation. The internet is a mixed blessing. It gives us lots of data. We must, as individuals, evaluate that data.

We are starting to see that we do not have to fight each other to survive. Instead, we must come together and embrace Oneness as a global community, the human race.
Fighting each other is age old. It is difficult to overcome the instincts that evolution has given us. I am a lover of peace and I hope we will stop fighting, but there is much more to becoming a global community than that. It involves a lot of sacrifice and selfless behavior. Are humans capable of that? I have seen no evidence that they are, as a whole.

Page 4 of The Present (with religion) (http://www.thetruthcontest.com/):

Our adversary is not other people, but the invisible beast within, our animal minds. The drawing early on in The Present makes the beast visible. Our emotions are running wild, and we are lost in the fantasies and illusions of the mind, living in the extremes. In this time of relative peace and prosperity, we have a small window of opportunity to overcome the animal mind, a chance to live as something more than an animal
Wrong. We ARE animals. We are animals who have big brains, but that does not make us any less animals. Now there are many animals that live in "peace" because they have no need for anything else, but humans are not among these. We have competed with fellow hominids and other species for many eons. Even as an optimist, I do not expect a change like this to occur without ages of genetic evolution.

Page 4 of The Present (with religion) (http://www.thetruthcontest.com/):

It is now time to see the truth and accept it to take the next step in evolution. We have used our minds to change our outer environment to suit our desires and dreams, to create the world we live in today. Now, we have to use our minds to change our inner-environment; we need to use the truth to overcome our own minds. To change the world, we must change ourselves, as our world is just a reflection of us.
That is easy to say and hard, if not impossible to do. And it refers to "The Truth". I find that any argument that uses "The Truth" as it's core is an unsound argument. Many people believe they have "The Truth" and yet, when they talk with each other, they find that they disagree on what "The Truth" is. It seems most likely to me that none of them have found "The Truth", but rather have found something they strongly believe. After all, if a thing were "The Truth", wouldn't it be obvious? Every religion purports to have "The Truth" (except Hinduism) and yet, they all find different "truth". Who decides which "truth" is right?


There is a simple website with one goal; to define and spread the ultimate truth.
There are thousands of such websites, and each has a different "ultimate truth". I don't want to be preached to about truth. I want to see evidence. Real. Replicable. Objective. Verifiable. Evidence. If you have some of that, I will listen to you. If all you have is philosophy, then I may give you a pass.

There is an entry there, a free, online word document that lifts the veil and explains the next step in our evolution, from mankind into spiritual beings. Read "The Present" (with or without religion) to take a step forward in your spiritual evolution. The book shows us how we can create a Heaven on Earth by embracing truth, freedom, justice, prosperity, and God/Life, and by creating win-win situations with our investments.
Frankly, I see no evidence of a "spirit" so the term "spiritual evolution" means nothing to me. What we call "spirit" is a combination of our thoughts and our emotions.

I do, however believe in freedom and justice, and even prosperity. These are things that we have as living entities. Now if a "spiritual" life can ensure prosperity, then certainly such a thing will become quite the market phenomenon. I await evidence of such a phenomenon. I can but hope that you will provide it.

"Be a light unto yourself." - Buddha
Now that's good, though I prefer, "To thine own self, be true" - William Shakespeare.

[MikeSun5]

There's one thing that Tricky missed/ignored....

There is an entry there, a free, online word document that lifts the veil and explains the next step in our evolution, from mankind into spiritual beings.

Evolution (in the context you and the website are using) doesn't have anything to do with anything spiritual. Evolution is a biological discipline derived from scientific study. See if this looks scientific to you:

Homo Habilis---> Homo Erectus ---> Homo Sapiens ---> Spiritual Being

See what I mean?

Read "The Present" (with or without religion) to take a step forward in your spiritual evolution.

I wonder where the assumption that I'm not spiritually evolved comes from. Hell, for all you know I'm MichaelSun5 the ArchangelSun5. :D

[SezMe]

There is a simple website with one goal; to define and spread the ultimate truth.

>>> The Truth Contest (http://www.thetruthcontest.com) <<<
My problem is with the very first two sentences:

This is a contest to find and spread the truth about life and death, the ultimate truth. What do you honestly believe?

What you honestly believe and the "ultimate truth" may have no connection whatsoever.

[Jethro Tull]

While global communication has accomplished a lot, I do not believe that any "truth of life" has yet been established. There are lots of things we have learned, but they are based on evidence, not on anyone's concept of "truth".

You are right that no "truth of life" has been established. That is what the contest is for, to see what we actually do know, to define and spread the truth.

What is said in this book is not just a theory; it is what the evidence says. It is truth you can check, and that makes it the real truth and the only truth.

Lots of things are being spread on the internet, including Holocaust denial, racial hatred, sexual predation. The internet is a mixed blessing. It gives us lots of data. We must, as individuals, evaluate that data.

Exactly. The truth is buried in deception, and it is up to us to separate the wheat from the chaff. We have to check it for ourselves.

Fighting each other is age old. It is difficult to overcome the instincts that evolution has given us. I am a lover of peace and I hope we will stop fighting, but there is much more to becoming a global community than that. It involves a lot of sacrifice and selfless behavior. Are humans capable of that? I have seen no evidence that they are, as a whole.

Our world is a reflection of us, and so a global community will not be possible until it is established in the hearts of men and women. The only way to overcome the instincts that we have been programmed with is by using the truth to overcome our minds. Sacrifice and selfless behavior will come naturally when we begin to see the human race as one.

Wrong. We ARE animals. We are animals who have big brains, but that does not make us any less animals. Now there are many animals that live in "peace" because they have no need for anything else, but humans are not among these. We have competed with fellow hominids and other species for many eons. Even as an optimist, I do not expect a change like this to occur without ages of genetic evolution.

We are entirely animals, but we don't have to act like it anymore. We have tamed the beast in most people, and we now live in a time of relative peace and prosperity. In the past, we had to kill each other to survive. For the first time in history, we do not have to kill each other. This gives us a window of opportunity to control the beast within, and we have to take it, because technology has advanced to the point where we can collectively commit mass suicide.

That is easy to say and hard, if not impossible to do. And it refers to "The Truth". I find that any argument that uses "The Truth" as it's core is an unsound argument. Many people believe they have "The Truth" and yet, when they talk with each other, they find that they disagree on what "The Truth" is. It seems most likely to me that none of them have found "The Truth", but rather have found something they strongly believe. After all, if a thing were "The Truth", wouldn't it be obvious? Every religion purports to have "The Truth" (except Hinduism) and yet, they all find different "truth". Who decides which "truth" is right?

You decide. If it is the real truth, the truth that the evidence supports, you can check it for yourself. "The Truth" is obvious, self-evident, but the mind makes things too complicated to see it. It takes a simple mind to see the simple truth.

There are thousands of such websites, and each has a different "ultimate truth". I don't want to be preached to about truth. I want to see evidence. Real. Replicable. Objective. Verifiable. Evidence. If you have some of that, I will listen to you. If all you have is philosophy, then I may give you a pass.

I understand. We have all been lied to so much throughout our lives, that it is very difficult to know who is really telling the truth. This isn't to preach to you, it is just to give you something that you can check for yourself.

Do not believe what anyone says, including me; check things yourself. You have to see the truth yourself in life itself to know it.

You are at what could be the end of a very long and difficult quest. You now have the opportunity to complete the quest and leave the animal realm forever.

The truth: You now know “the truth” part of the truth and the life. There are only four essential or fundamental things you need to know and they are:
1. You are immortal.
2. Everything will balance.
3. You are not your mind.
4. God (life) is the present.

[MikeSun5]

Okay, Aqualung... ;) You claim your website has the truth...
Global communication has made it possible to see the big picture... The truth is being spread on the Internet...
It is now time to see the truth and accept it to take the next step in evolution.

When asked what you mean by the truth, you say:

You decide.

So if it's up to us to define the truth for ourselves anyway, what in the world would your website have to offer anyone? Especially since, as you said:

We have all been lied to so much throughout our lives, that it is very difficult to know who is really telling the truth.

You've actually advertised and defamed that website in the same post.

The truth: You now know “the truth” part of the truth and the life. There are only four essential or fundamental things you need to know and they are:
1. You are immortal.
2. Everything will balance.
3. You are not your mind.
4. God (life) is the present.

You said we should check these things for ourselves. I have.
1. False.
2. Intentionally vague statement.
3. Intentionally confusing statement.
4. I don't know what the hell you're talking about.

So if that's the truth... I guess I still don't know it. :boggled:

[Tricky]

While global communication has accomplished a lot, I do not believe that any "truth of life" has yet been established. There are lots of things we have learned, but they are based on evidence, not on anyone's concept of "truth".

You are right that no "truth of life" has been established. That is what the contest is for, to see what we actually do know, to define and spread the truth.
Well dangit JT, first you say that there is no truth of life established, then you say we contest to "spread the truth". We contest to spread beliefs and ideas. I don't think we should call those things "truth".

What is said in this book is not just a theory; it is what the evidence says. It is truth you can check, and that makes it the real truth and the only truth.

That is propaganda, pure and simple. What if you check and it is not the truth? Is he author a liar, or just presenting his point of view?

Exactly. The truth is buried in deception, and it is up to us to separate the wheat from the chaff. We have to check it for ourselves.
That's what I do. Now suppose, after separating the wheat from the chaff, that I believe that your "truth" is deception. Who is right? How do you determine it? In my mind, the answer is clear: Evidence.

Our world is a reflection of us, and so a global community will not be possible until it is established in the hearts of men and women. The only way to overcome the instincts that we have been programmed with is by using the truth to overcome our minds. Sacrifice and selfless behavior will come naturally when we begin to see the human race as one.

Actually, sacrifice and selfless behavior are instincts too. Even animals other than humans practice them, in certain situations. What you are suggesting is that we stop using (i.e. "overcome") our minds and rely on... what? Instinct? If we can't trust our minds, and we can't trust instinct, then what is it you are suggesting we trust without employing mind or instinct?

Our world is a reflection of us, and so a global community will not be possible until it is established in the hearts of men and women. The only way to overcome the instincts that we have been programmed with is by using the truth to overcome our minds. Sacrifice and selfless behavior will come naturally when we begin to see the human race as one.

I do not wish to overcome my mind, thank you. I like thinking. I don't want to accept anything that involves no thinking.

Sacrifice and selfless behavior are products of both thinking and of evolution. Many species practice S&SB because that is the way to make the species survive. If you doubt me, try taking the eggs from a mockingbird's nest.


We are entirely animals, but we don't have to act like it anymore. We have tamed the beast in most people, and we now live in a time of relative peace and prosperity. In the past, we had to kill each other to survive. For the first time in history, we do not have to kill each other. This gives us a window of opportunity to control the beast within, and we have to take it, because technology has advanced to the point where we can collectively commit mass suicide.

You speak of "animal" as if it were an insult. There are many many animals. They behave in many many ways. Humans behave differently from other animals in many ways and alike other animals in many ways, but the main difference is our big brain. We can analyze those ways. But the big brain is just as much a product of evolution as the Eagle's eyes or the Sharks teeth. It is an adaptation to survive. Don't get too proud about it. Sharks have been here longer than us. A lot longer. They may outlive us.

And actually, there have been many times in history where we didn't have to kill each other to survive. Indeed, then need for space and food has rarely been more apparent than now. People kill each other because they want more. Don't get me wrong, this is not something I advocate, but to pretend that this want has diminished is ludicrous.

You decide. If it is the real truth, the truth that the evidence supports, you can check it for yourself. "The Truth" is obvious, self-evident, but the mind makes things too complicated to see it. It takes a simple mind to see the simple truth.

Frankly, I don't' decide on what is "truth". I have found that what people call "truth" is no more than "belief". I don't believe in absolute truth. I believe in things with a lot of evidence. But it is a conditional belief. If I get better evidence, my belief may change.

To say that it takes a simple mind to see the truth is to say that people who see the "truth" have simple minds. My mind is not simple.

I understand. We have all been lied to so much throughout our lives, that it is very difficult to know who is really telling the truth. This isn't to preach to you, it is just to give you something that you can check for yourself.

While I have not read your book, I have done a lot of checking in my life. What my checking has revealed is that people who claim to know "the truth" are always pushing their own personal belief. I have yet to see an exception to this rule.

Do not believe what anyone says, including me; check things yourself. You have to see the truth yourself in life itself to know it.

If he seriously means this, then he will have no problem if anyone rejects his ideas completely. I confess that I have not read the book, only your comments, so I do not do this. However, based on what you've said, I cannot find a compelling reason to read the book. I hope you aren't offended by this, but I have very many things I would like to read, and this is very low on the list. It does not look in the least bit interesting to me. Sorry.

[MikeSun5]

Since Jethro Tull's website is asking for everyone's version of "the truth," I went there and added mine in a comment.

It's awaiting moderator approval. I won't hold my breath. :D

[quarky]

I'd like to believe that the next big step in our evolution is when we decide to alter our form and finally shake this silly bilateral symmetry. In my dreams, I have seen the siamese octuplet, and it was good.

[SezMe]

Octomom must be the transitional form. :)

[Dancing David]

Our adversary is not other people, but the invisible beast within, our animal minds.

Um, tehre is no animal mind, unless the whole thing is animal.

All human behavior is learned. It can be influenced by the biology of course, but there is no unconditioned mind, there is really no mind either.

[Pup]

Pretty much what everyone else said. But I'll just add another thought, which comes close to Godwinizing the thread, though I really don't mean to! :duck:

Taking the next step in evolution would imply a genetic change, not just a voluntary one. If we want to evolve into less competitive beings, we can't just decide to be less violent and more cooperative, we have to breed children who are born that way, with appropriate genetic encoding that they can pass on to their children.

The only way to do that deliberately is to somehow prevent people with characteristics we don't like from producing children and/or coming up with some way to recode their DNA so the bad genes aren't transmitted, while encouraging those with characteristics we want, to keep breeding.

Didn't we already try deliberately managing the human race's breeding last century? Didn't it not turn out so well?

[true1]

Hi Jethro,
contrary to what people say here, this is true.
The present moment is ALL we have. It is not what we think we have, it is what is there all the time. Our mind blocks us from just living in the moment. We are everything at once all the time, everything is interconnected.
The present is distorted by what we think we are, and what we identify with. Religion, over-intellectualizing, nationality, etc is just an illusion that separates us from the rest of life, and it is a dangerous one at that.
There is nothing more perfect and beautiful than feeling your body, knowing that it is run by the same laws of the ENTIRE universe. and it is changing every moment in a creative miracle and genius inherent in all life. There is nothing outside of it controlling life, it is just all moving together with inherent intelligence.

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream IT IS NOT DYING! even though your ego/mind makes you think it is (becuase it always wants to be in control, it is true living!

[true1]

there is no God to blasphemy against. it is all life. Live it. The only blasphemy is not letting life in by closing your mind, and that is just a waste.

[quarky]

Through genetic manipulations, we could fast track evolution with some modified human designs made for some new, artificial niches. Its not a popular idea, for sure.

[Tricky]

Hi Jethro,
contrary to what people say here, this is true.
The present moment is ALL we have.
I must respectfully disagree. I have a past. I probably have a future. It is exceedingly dangerous to ignore either one.

It is not what we think we have, it is what is there all the time. Our mind blocks us from just living in the moment. We are everything at once all the time, everything is interconnected.
I regard this a babble. While it is true that we are all part of the same universe, certain things have a lot more effect on us than others. A perspicacious person will pick up on which things affect him the most and not write it off with a vague, "everything is interconnected" mantra.

The present is distorted by what we think we are, and what we identify with. Religion, over-intellectualizing, nationality, etc is just an illusion that separates us from the rest of life, and it is a dangerous one at that.
God may be an illusion, but religion and nationality certainly are not. They affect us greatly. You would be foolish to ignore them.

There is nothing more perfect and beautiful than feeling your body, knowing that it is run by the same laws of the ENTIRE universe. and it is changing every moment in a creative miracle and genius inherent in all life. There is nothing outside of it controlling life, it is just all moving together with inherent intelligence.


That's so deep, man. Don't bogard that sucker.

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream IT IS NOT DYING! even though your ego/mind makes you think it is (becuase it always wants to be in control, it is true living!

No, I think I'll keep my mind operating, thank you. I've found it to be useful.

And if I'm going into in a stream, I'd take a paddle. I do, in fact, like having some control over my life. YMMV.

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream
The only blasphemy is not letting life in by closing your mind...
Are you sure you've thought this through carefully?

[Jethro Tull]

I do not wish to overcome my mind, thank you. I like thinking. I don't want to accept anything that involves no thinking.


The mind blocks and filters out the life that is coming to you from all directions in the present moment. To receive all of the life that is coming to you, you have to turn off your mind, because when you do, everything becomes new. Life is always new.

The present moment is all that is, the only thing you can experience, your life, all of it. The past is a memory or story, and we should learn from it, but not dwell on it. Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. The future is an educated guess, usually predicted by extrapolating the known evidence. Making plans and using our imagination is key to our progress, but that doesn't mean we have to think about it all the time. The present is the goal, because it is where we always are.

You speak of "animal" as if it were an insult. There are many many animals. They behave in many many ways. Humans behave differently from other animals in many ways and alike other animals in many ways, but the main difference is our big brain. We can analyze those ways. But the big brain is just as much a product of evolution as the Eagle's eyes or the Sharks teeth. It is an adaptation to survive. Don't get too proud about it. Sharks have been here longer than us. A lot longer. They may outlive us.

A lot of you are talking about genetics as the answer to the next step in evolution. I see genetic research as crucial to our survival in the future, that is, if we don't blow ourselves up before then. However, we will never be able to handle those technologies if we do not change the way that we think. We have to use what nature has evolved in us, what makes us different from other animals. We have to use our rational minds (neocortex) to reprogram the lower parts of our mind; the part that acts on emotions, and the instinctual mind. The truth is what we need to reprogram our minds. It will solve all of our problems, because our minds are the root of all the problems we create and now face. The mind will be the key to taking the next step in our evolution, but not by doing what it has done in the past. It has to change for us to change.

Use it or lose it: The only real difference between mankind and all other animals is our ability to reason and think. Thus, our minds have to be what we have to use to evolve further. We have to use what we evolved that separated us from all other animals.

We have to use the last step we took to take the next step.

Our only job is to become more than we are while we can.

Everything else we can do, other animals can do better, so our destiny is not tied to anything other animals have or can do. If we do not use our special gift, we will lose it, and we will have to go to the end of the line.

Ultimate purpose: Since we are the only animal with a rational mind, we must use it for its ultimate purpose. We are the only animal that can learn and understand the world we live in. No other animal even knows it is going to die.

There can only be one ultimate purpose for mankind, and that is to transcend or evolve past the animal world.


If he seriously means this, then he will have no problem if anyone rejects his ideas completely. I confess that I have not read the book, only your comments, so I do not do this. However, based on what you've said, I cannot find a compelling reason to read the book. I hope you aren't offended by this, but I have very many things I would like to read, and this is very low on the list. It does not look in the least bit interesting to me. Sorry.

I think he does seriously mean this, or else I wouldn't have shared it with you. I just want you to know that most of what you are saying is in this book, but you are a very intellectual person, so it may seem too simple for you. I would very much like you to check it out, but there is nothing I can do to force you to do that. Take care.

[fromdownunder]

Hi Jethro,
contrary to what people say here, this is true.
The present moment is ALL we have. It is not what we think we have, it is what is there all the time. Our mind blocks us from just living in the moment. We are everything at once all the time, everything is interconnected.
The present is distorted by what we think we are, and what we identify with. Religion, over-intellectualizing, nationality, etc is just an illusion that separates us from the rest of life, and it is a dangerous one at that.
There is nothing more perfect and beautiful than feeling your body, knowing that it is run by the same laws of the ENTIRE universe. and it is changing every moment in a creative miracle and genius inherent in all life. There is nothing outside of it controlling life, it is just all moving together with inherent intelligence.

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream IT IS NOT DYING! even though your ego/mind makes you think it is (becuase it always wants to be in control, it is true living!

Like WOW!, man! That is soooo deep! I have not heard anything quite so profound since the '60's. Are you from the '60's?

Norm

[RandFan]

There are lots of things we have learned, but they are based on evidence, not on anyone's concept of "truth".Can we make any determination of whether or not society is making progress toward the truth? Are reasoned propositions more likely to survive in the long run within modern liberal democracies?

I would suggest that the answer is yes. The overall trend is good. When well reasoned positions are given their due and become part of popular culture then society will improve.

There will be reversals. There will be backlashes. It's the overall trend that is important though and I think there is far too much objective evidence that the trend is good.

I would cite Steve Pinker's Brief History of Violence

ramBFRt1Uzk

I would also note comparitive HDI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index) in various countries. And the arguments made by Natan Sharansky in his book The Case for Democracy (http://www.amazon.com/Case-Democracy-Freedom-Overcome-Tyranny/dp/1586482610). I think there is good reason to believe that the Internet is a net good for humanity.

If not it's still a good source for porn.

[MikeSun5]

I wonder if true1 could say any of that stuff while Jethro Tull drinks a glass of water. This thread is awesome. Here's my favorites:

We are everything at once all the time, everything is interconnected.

Beautiful. I watched the Matrix too, but it didn't affect my world view.

Religion, over-intellectualizing, nationality, etc is just an illusion that separates us from the rest of life, and it is a dangerous one at that.

So you avoid those things? You guys avoid over-intellectualizing, do ya? :rolleyes: That reminds me...

This is by far the best one:

We have to use our rational minds (neocortex) to reprogram the lower parts of our mind; the part that acts on emotions, and the instinctual mind. The truth is what we need to reprogram our minds.

The neocortex! Of course! :D

When our mind is reprogrammed and the evolution is complete, is this what we will see (http://www.uh.edu/engines/neo.matrix.jpg)? Because that would kick butt.

The problem with making these statments about the universe, total consciousness, god, etc. is that the person making those statements can only be correct if they possess some sort of power or ability that the rest of us don't have (telepathy or clairovoyance or something). Nobody has those abilities, so nobody can make factual statements about any of it. Besides, saying you know something only God can is blasphemous anyway. Morpheus would be pissed.

[quarky]

I'm from the 60's, and I must say that perceiving without thought is a profound experience.
This has been known for thousands of years, yet, people lack the required discipline to experience such a state, and mostly always have.

Which is why I favor altering the human form, on purpose, so that we can be free from all the funky distractions that demand constant mental chatter. Something more along the lines of a manatee would be a good start. And then, smaller versions.

[Tsukasa Buddha]

I notice you quote the Buddha yet go on to contradict probably his biggest teaching...

Also, you say that life for every being is fair... Um, [censored]?

[!Kaggen]

I watched the Matrix too, but it didn't affect my world view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwNXnkFqSYg

[!Kaggen]

Which is why I favor altering the human form, on purpose, so that we can be free from all the funky distractions that demand constant mental chatter.

something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSdhDyPhyiU

[!Kaggen]

Can we make any determination of whether or not society is making progress toward the truth? Are reasoned propositions more likely to survive in the long run within modern liberal democracies?

I would suggest that the answer is yes. The overall trend is good. When well reasoned positions are given their due and become part of popular culture then society will improve.

There will be reversals. There will be backlashes. It's the overall trend that is important though and I think there is far too much objective evidence that the trend is good.

In terms of the bold italic bit above.

How about "accurate observations"?

I would argue "accurate observations" are the proverbial carrots and "reasoned propositions" are the sticks.

Goethe used accurate observations to make interesting discoveries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphosis_of_Plants
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Colours

Humanity would benefit from using and developing his techniques further in conjunction with the scientific method.

[Beerina]

We are starting to see that we do not have to fight each other to survive.

...

Our adversary is not other people, but the invisible beast within, our animal minds.

Civilization is the process of beating back the hunter-gatherer mentality of animals and recognizing you can't just go up and take that sheep or ear of corn because someone planted and is raising them.

In this manner, enterprises can grow, free from threat of theft, if not outright pillage by mobs.

Dictatorships, communism, and heavy-handed socialism violate this, putting "seizure" back into the hands of the mobs, as touted by those in power.

This is exactly why they fail, in spite of (in the last case, anyway) good intentions. Reality doesn't care about intentions, only about net effect, only that those who would actually produce cannot be secure in what they produce, so they don't work hard to produce, or work at all.


Instead, we must come together and embrace Oneness as a global community, the human race.

Sounds good and poetic. But it DNF since that type of phrasing will be used by some to try to gain control and violate that which we just discussed above.

Use such wording very carefully.








As for "ultimate truth", built on the above, people are cogs in giant machines of control, believing in massive sets of memes, some of which are true, some false, some true but purely coincidentally. This causes them to behave in such a way as to help spread their set of memes, regardless of what they think they're actually doing..

So even if you knew the "ultimate truth" of the universe, i.e. how it came to be, why (if any reason) we are here, why anything exists, and so on, it would be only a footnote to your knowledge. People would still follow the meme complex-spreading behavior.

Conflict will always be. Even should some meme win out and dominate the planet, they are always mutations. Sooner or later one will come along and begin to spread, being more fit in terms of getting people to help it spread itself.

Note that happens regardless of the veracity of the meme. Religion, God, Einstein's theory of general relativity, socialized medicine, quantum mechanics, or the theory of memes itself, ironically. Veracity is just a small hurdle to be leapt. It doesn't carry much weight in the gradient descent space of memetic evolution. Falsehood, as a millstone about a meme's neck, is translucent gossamer.



So the truth is nearly irrelevant; we are all controlled by spreading ideas to others, and believing in the prominent ones, en mass.

Just do your best to thwart any memes that try to spread by force. You'll get a fight -- the meme has adopted the sub-meme that force is justified, which placates the mind of the believers so they're not feeling like bad people as they round you up, so be careful.

[Fiona]

This live in the moment might work for mayfly: but some of us have to shop and make the dinner. I do not think it works for human beings who have to get their living: employers expect you to turn up