tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post7952252768097088771..comments2024-03-28T20:04:20.286-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Because I Said So vs. Because I Did So (or My Way is the High Way)Gagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1952406007264380462009-06-03T07:30:49.224-07:002009-06-03T07:30:49.224-07:00When we in our foolishness thought we were wise/He...When we in our foolishness thought we were wise/He played the fool and he opened our eyes... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvejyvnEidYSusannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16381272662339466736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-43618730457721083632009-06-03T00:02:03.194-07:002009-06-03T00:02:03.194-07:00"The question now becomes more like, "wh...<i>"The question now becomes more like, "why are you doing this to yourself?"</i><br /><br />This reminds me of when I was a teenager. A friend walked into the room while I was sitting alone, hitting my forehead with a crowbar, (not very hard but enough that it felt and looked painful).<br /><br />I said, "Because it feels so good when I stop."<br /><br />I was feeling dead inside my own body.Dougmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08468871451814828157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-63206979194033630932009-06-02T21:38:58.646-07:002009-06-02T21:38:58.646-07:00aninnymouse said "...A child needs a field of...aninnymouse said "...A child needs a field of challenges...A lack of suffering would be worse, however, as it would stunt or delay the necessary soul growth the child came here to do..."<br /><br />Oh. Wow. Bob, Cassandra, Ben, you hear that? Apparently we're <i>not</i> supposed to lock our children away in the happy closet? You mean letting them face challenges <i>isn't</i> bad for them? How did we ever miss the memo?! Oh thank heaven for such wise aninnymouses to put us straight!<br /><br />(Petey, I think you need to put the 'Measureable EEG activity required for commenting' sign back up.)Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-25280080991258065402009-06-02T21:38:39.255-07:002009-06-02T21:38:39.255-07:00"You are either not wise enough or not old en..."You are either not wise enough or not old enough to remember when culture opposed our basest impulses."<br /><br />I do-- 1400 C.E.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-15684100972145657992009-06-02T21:09:53.652-07:002009-06-02T21:09:53.652-07:00Why? said "So there's no hope of answerin...Why? said "So there's no hope of answering this why? <br />Why have we been given this gift at so great a price?"<br /><br />Because that is the way it is. And because we are what and who we are, and capable of discovering the world and ourselves, we can <i>discover</i> the way it is, and choose how to behave towards it... but you can't receive and possess a gift, without accepting it... accept it already. <br /><br />We could not experience joy or sorrow, or discover truth, or be able to value <i>any of it</i>, if we weren't also capable of experiencing their opposite or lesser states, and none of that would be possible, if we weren't first free to choose to... and having free will can't be a partial gift. Having lives filled with only pleasant experiences, would necessitate not being able to know it! We'd have to be robots incapable of making errors or choices.<br /><br />It's robots or Men, and anything in between would be unable to experience the richness of life which only humanity is capable of experiencing... not to mention the fact that the lesser bargain gifts come with unsightly body hair, colorful & shiny butts and an over fondness for bananas and snacking on your neighbors body lice... and even that would fall far short of such utopian happy happy joy joy worlds.<br /><br />I was listening to a scientists talk earlier today, about the fact that <i>'if the speed of light were just a little bit faster or slower, if gravity were just a little bit stronger or weaker, if hydrogen were just a little lighter or heavier... there'd be no earth and no life at all'</i>... this particular one took that as a sign that it almost seems as if maybe the universe was designed for Man... but I've also heard the same particulars mentioned as how obviously it is just a random bit of accidental chance that we are here at all, and aren't we lucky we didn't wind up with one with completely unpredictable laws. <br /><br />Neither one, I think, gets that it never was possible, at all, that neither light, nor gravity nor the atomic weight of any element <i>could</i> have been other than what they are... it isn't chance or whim at all... they are all necessary consequences of what the entire Cosmos, as One whole, IS. Those seemingly arbitrary particulars are necessary and integrated aspects of the One whole, just as the end is contained in the beginning and vice versa. There are no arbitrary or contingent particulars or laws in the Cosmos. It is what it IS! Might as well go on about how <i>'if just one side of a square was just a little bit shorter, it'd no longer be a square! Isn't that amazing!'</i> (oh, and for the leftist, redesigning a square to make it nicer and gentler, without corners, destroys the square... and in trying to pretend actual squares don't have corners, you're gonna get hurt).<br /><br />It IS what it IS. One Cosmos. And you are a part of it, and as far as we know, you are the only part of it that CAN know that it is what it is, and that can also know who you are and can discover where you came from, and the only part of the cosmos that is set free from the elaborate pinball effect of the material world, is life, and the only living being we know of that can purposefully steer its course around those amazing flipper fingers, and know itself and the game, is us - if we choose to use our defining gift of Free Will. <br /><br />So quit looking the gift horse in the mouth and complaining about the price tag. <br /><br />Unwrap it already!<br /><br />Sheesh.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1432943597932821492009-06-02T20:08:02.507-07:002009-06-02T20:08:02.507-07:00Has anyone read A Time to Keep Silence first publi...Has anyone read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Time-Silence-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590172442/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books" rel="nofollow">A Time to Keep Silence</a> first published 1957 & would you recommend it? Looks interesting.<br /><br /><i>"Leigh Fermor writes about a more inward journey, describing his several sojourns in some of Europe’s oldest and most venerable monasteries. He stays at the Abbey of St. Wandrille, a great repository of art and learning; at Solesmes, famous for its revival of Gregorian chant; and at the deeply ascetic Trappist monastery of La Grande Trappe, where monks take a vow of silence. Finally, he visits the rock monasteries of Cappadocia, hewn from the stony spires of a moonlike landscape, where he seeks some trace of the life of the earliest Christian anchorites.<br /><br />More than a history or travel journal, however, this beautiful short book is a meditation on the meaning of silence and solitude for modern life. Leigh Fermor writes, “In the seclusion of a cell—an existence whose quietness is only varied by the silent meals, the solemnity of ritual, and long solitary walks in the woods—the troubled waters of the mind grow still and clear, and much that is hidden away and all that clouds it floats to the surface and can be skimmed away; and after a time one reaches a state of peace that is unthought of in the ordinary world.”</i>ximezenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-89302404068169635262009-06-02T18:20:30.646-07:002009-06-02T18:20:30.646-07:00I should have added that Cowan in his book is on a...I should have added that Cowan in his book is on an extended adventure similar to Vicar Owen-Jones in that documentary. It reads much like a diary.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-12513173007451343572009-06-02T18:17:59.987-07:002009-06-02T18:17:59.987-07:00Julie, well, there are a few real gems in there. I...Julie, well, there are a few real gems in there. I just left another at Mushroom’s.<br />You know, there was a review on some religious blog that said “Cowan didn’t ‘get’ Lazarus”. I don’t know…he seems to be doing ok I think with the larger picture, if not better than Vicar Owen-Jones from that Extreme Pilgrim doc. I’m only halfway through the book, and I’m definitely not sorry I’m reading it. I look forward to it. It gives a good timeline from Christ through Anthony and it seems will eventually carry up to Fr. Lazarus. Still not enough Lazarus in it though – like the documentary. But there is still half a book, or 100 pages, to go.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-24318389038885617682009-06-02T18:09:02.753-07:002009-06-02T18:09:02.753-07:00Ah Ben, so you’re home with the “two yoots”!
:-DAh Ben, so you’re home with the “two yoots”!<br />:-DRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-84974615373432923702009-06-02T18:06:45.188-07:002009-06-02T18:06:45.188-07:00So, like us, let your children run wild and free, ...So, like us, let your children run wild and free, because as the old<br />saying goes, let your children run wild and free.Homernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-56524998604104226292009-06-02T17:58:45.219-07:002009-06-02T17:58:45.219-07:00Good point, Master Rick.
Jesus recognized hearts t...Good point, Master Rick.<br />Jesus recognized hearts that were willin' to repent. <br /><br />Why was Jesus at odds with the Scribes and Parasees and money lenders?<br />Because they had hearts of stone.<br />They were the leftists of that time, livin' by the letter (many there own) and ignorin' the Spirit of the law. <br /><br />Aye. Even ol' Skully reads the Good Book, while drinkin' a good grog.`Skullynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-4717779069698879022009-06-02T17:52:07.789-07:002009-06-02T17:52:07.789-07:00Ricky, so you're saying I should get me a copy...Ricky, so you're saying I should get me a copy? :Djuliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1648269293637710292009-06-02T17:49:36.289-07:002009-06-02T17:49:36.289-07:00Hi Rick!
How's it goin'? I'm sneakin&...Hi Rick!<br /><br />How's it goin'? I'm sneakin' in a few comments while dog-sittin', 'cause Patti went shoppin' for vittles. The pup thinks she is a tazmanian devil. <br /><br />"Quit bitin' Skully's ear!"USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-8587608834332693912009-06-02T17:28:05.719-07:002009-06-02T17:28:05.719-07:00"In other words, it is not "I" who says so, but re..."In other words, it is not "I" who says so, but reality which does. I would then explain why reality operates in this frustrating or painful manner, and how reality always "bites back" if you violate it." <br /><br />And amazingly, that would be controversial... hence our culture being'hostile territory'. Why? Goes back to what we were discussing yesterday. What is real is seen as the frustration of, and opponent of, the leftist mode of thinking. I'm going to let loose the long winds on this on my site soon, so I'll keep this easily click-by-able, but one clue can be found here, at the root of the matter, and it has to do with being <I>sure</I> you are right... no reasons needed for that, just being sure is enough.<br /><br />For instance, from one of Descartes' <A HREF="http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfbits/desco12.pdf" REL="nofollow">Replies to questions about his Meditations,</A>"<I>First of all, as soon as we think we correctly perceive something, we’re spontaneously convinced that it is true. Now if this conviction is so firm that it is impossible for us ever to have any reason for doubting what we are convinced of, <B>then there are no further questions for us to ask: we have everything that we could reasonably want</B>. What is it to us that someone may make out that the perception whose truth we are so firmly convinced of may appear false to God or an angel, i.e. that it is, absolutely speaking, false? What do we care about this ‘absolute falsity’, since we don’t believe in it or have even the smallest suspicion of it? For the sort of case that is in question here is one involving a conviction so firm that it is quite incapable of being destroyed; and such a conviction is clearly the same as the most perfect certainty...</I>"<br /><br />If you are convinced enough about what you really want to be right, what does it matter what is real or even what God thinks (his feeble proofs of God play into this quite a bit), such 'absolute falsity' is of no concern (for those of us in rio Linda, that means '♪♫ Doesn't matter if it's wrong, I want it to be Right!♫♪'), being clearly convinced is all you need, and you can bite <I>it</I> back.<br /><br />What's a hundred million or two people... lets give it another whirl....Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-53758806897406448772009-06-02T17:14:34.732-07:002009-06-02T17:14:34.732-07:00Ben!
Our watches are finally synchronized :-)Ben!<br /><br />Our watches are finally synchronized :-)Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-82445390631112883002009-06-02T17:13:09.011-07:002009-06-02T17:13:09.011-07:00Skully!
Riddle: Why did Jesus visit the lepers?
...Skully!<br /><br />Riddle: Why did Jesus visit the lepers?<br /><br />Answer: That’s where they lived.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-35996393172899775502009-06-02T17:10:56.469-07:002009-06-02T17:10:56.469-07:00Man, there's definitely a plethera of drama in the...Man, there's definitely a plethera of drama in the Theo Drama!<br />My review thus far: <br />"Rivetting! Theo Drama draws you in and doesn't let you go! Theo Drama is must see reading, meditating and coontemplation! Don't miss Gagdad Bob's meisterpiece as he takes us on an incredibly fantastical journey through Balthazars Theo Drama!!!1!1!1!!<br /><br />Thanks Bob!USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-83810608474417661692009-06-02T17:07:36.691-07:002009-06-02T17:07:36.691-07:00Petey,
“In my room that evening I lay there liste...Petey,<br /><br />“In my room that evening I lay there listening to the din from the street. I felt estranged for the first time, as if my encounter with the churches of old Cairo had reinforced my sense of alienation. This was the modern age, I told myself. We prefer to bury ourselves in the detritus of waste, of evil gases and collective stress, simply to say we’re alive. Yet when I thought of the bones of those martyrs lying in their velvet-covered cylinders, so silent and enfolded, I knew that something was amiss. The image of the celestial city no longer exists in our imagination because it reminds us of a time when restraint was considered to be a genuine spiritual value, not as it is regarded today – as some sort of pathological condition.”<br />~ Cowan “Desert Father”<br /><br />…last month we were not reading the same book, now not even the same author, and yet the same drama.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-2353219146607137492009-06-02T17:01:34.773-07:002009-06-02T17:01:34.773-07:00And, to add another layer of acrid smoke to the tr...And, to add another layer of acrid smoke to the troll cloud, I would say it's not a good idea to place your entire heart with your child; that's just asking for it. I know you can't help it, as you are a good man and that's how good men are.<br /><br />However, a child has its own agenda in the world; she is by no means beholden to her parents and cannot and should not follow any set plan, and should defininelty not be overly sheltered. <br /><br />You will be obliged to see your child suffer. A lack of suffering would be worse, however, as it would stunt or delay the necessary soul growth the child came here to do.<br /><br />You invited the child here and are playing host, but stay out of the way and let things rip.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-75233960523088836732009-06-02T16:54:51.215-07:002009-06-02T16:54:51.215-07:00But God's heart wanders around everywhere, high an...But God's heart wanders around everywhere, high and low: with whores, drunks, lepers, tax collectors, leftists.<br /><br />And privateers.Skullynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-27087021891371356092009-06-02T16:52:29.035-07:002009-06-02T16:52:29.035-07:00Cassandra-
"In fact, if anything,I loved both lit...Cassandra-<br /><br />"In fact, if anything,I loved both little 'Susie' and little 'Johnny' more than just 'Susie' alone....or at least I appreciated the uniqueness of each more. <br /><br />And so it went with the next two kids,...which gave me a glimpse of how God could love an infinite number of children."<br /><br />Thanks for sharing that beautiful experience you had with your children! And God bless you! :^)USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-62532489695485452962009-06-02T16:44:41.695-07:002009-06-02T16:44:41.695-07:00"I might say, for example, because that's the way ..."I might say, for example, because that's the way it is. In other words, it is not "I" who says so, but reality which does. I would then explain why reality operates in this frustrating or painful manner, and how reality always "bites back" if you violate it."<br /><br />Ho! It's a real balancing act to explain reality to children.<br />I didn't want our daughters to be too paranoid about the land sharks out there, but I also didn't want them to think they would always be protected or safe, and that precautions are necessary.<br /><br />Sometimes I got blank looks as I could be somewhat longwinded when explaining reality. I eventually realized that there's some things our kids would never fully realize until they actually experienced it. <br />Often we would hear "Mom, or Dad, you were right." Or deeper questions such as "Why are some people like that?" In response to cruel classmates.<br /><br />But we never said "because I said so," or "you wouldn't understand,"<br />or any lazy responses that basically say "you can never know why."<br /><br />We encouraged the seeking of answers and also asking the right questions.<br />Both our kids often understood reality more than I expected at times. Other times we worked to undo the damage that some public teachers had done, while praising the teachers that did their jobs well, not only teaching the subject matter but inspiring kids to seek out the truth for themselves. <br /><br />However, explaining reality to our daughters would've been a lot easier if One Cosmos had been around at the time. :^)USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-46552494762530840662009-06-02T16:44:00.425-07:002009-06-02T16:44:00.425-07:00You are either not wise enough or not old enough t...You are either not wise enough or not old enough to remember when culture opposed our basest impulses.Peteynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-30432044110209294072009-06-02T16:39:35.247-07:002009-06-02T16:39:35.247-07:00Bob, and to a lesser extent Gazriel;
Why so down ...Bob, and to a lesser extent Gazriel;<br /><br />Why so down on our culture? There's tons of love out there. The bad stuff is there but not as prominent as the good. Millions of loving families say "we like it here, we like it now."<br /><br />This is a good time to be in culture. Our culture is fabulously rich and varied. It offers a field of unlimited possibilities.<br /><br />No need to overly fear sending out the child into culture; without it there's nothing/nobody else to play with but the parents/siblings. No offense, but that's not going to cut the mustard.<br /><br />A child needs a field of challenges. Give your child some credit; you survived culture, and so will he.<br /><br />More serious dangers lurk inside, when your child encounters and grapples with his own sexual drive, aggressive urges, selfishness, laziness, etc. That's when the teardrops start.<br /><br />Recount your own life and you'll have to admit this is so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-52308933310677973762009-06-02T16:21:33.435-07:002009-06-02T16:21:33.435-07:00I'm going to be an optimist and assume that the re...I'm going to be an optimist and assume that the reason our favorite stories have conflicts and resolutions, mystery and clarity, and a satisfying ending is another aspect of <I>as above, so below</I>.<br /><br />But you were definitely right about the necessity of suffering.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.com