agentquantum - // an infinite mastery, is the Force.
the chosen one
alwyn!
raffles junior college
08 08 '89
leo
star wars fan
Judoka
wishlist :
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume
The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose
The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch
Matter and Consciousness by Paul Churchland
Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett
Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Life of the Cosmos by Lee Smolin
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan
The Sacred Balance by David Suzuki
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Betrayal
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines
Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice
Games:
Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne by Triumph Studios
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic by Triumph Studios
Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood by Spellbound
Myth III: The Wolf Age by MumboJumbo
The Bard's Tale by InXile Entertainment
Dragon Age by Bioware
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir by Obsidian Entertainment
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Places I'd Like to Visit:
Sweden
Switzerland
Italy
France
Thailand
Brazil
South Korea
Japan (again!)
Norway
Costa Rica
click for more =)
"When I became convinced that the Universe is natural that all the ghosts and gods are
myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the
sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the
dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I
was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide
world, not even in infinite space. I was free.
free to think, to express my thoughts
free to live to my own ideal
free to live for myself and those I loved
free to use all my faculties, all my senses
free to spread imagination's wings
free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope
free to judge and determine for myself
free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the "inspired" books that savages have
produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past
free from popes and priests
free from all the "called" and "set apart"
free from sanctified mistakes and holy lies
free from the fear of eternal pain
free from the winged monsters of night
free from devils, ghosts, and gods
For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of my
thought, no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings
no chains for my limbs
no lashes for my back
no fires for my flesh
no master's frown or threat
no following another's steps
no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words.
I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously, faced all worlds. And then my heart
was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heroes,
the thinkers who gave their lives for the liberty of hand and brain for the freedom of
labor and thought
to those who fell on the fierce fields of war
to those who died in dungeons bound with chains
to those who proudly mounted scaffold's stairs
to those whose bones were crushed, whose flesh was scarred and torn
to those by fire consumed
to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land, whose thoughts and deeds have given
freedom to the sons of men.
And I vowed to grasp the torch that they had held, and hold it high, that light might
conquer darkness still."
-Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899), "Why Am I An Agnostic?", 1896 Click to join Atheisthaven
We are part of the universe. Our earth was created from the universe and will one day be reabsorbed into the universe.
We are made of the same matter as the universe. We are not in exile here: we are at home. It is here and nowhere else that we can see the divine face to face. If we erect barriers in our imagination - if we believe our real home is not here but in a land that lies beyond death - if we believe that the divine is found only in old books, or old buildings, or inside our head - then we will see this real, vibrant, luminous world as if through a glass darkly.
The universe creates us, preserves us, destroys us.
We are part of nature. Nature made us and at our death we will be reabsorbed into nature. We are at home in nature and in our bodies. This is where we belong; this is where we must find and make our paradise, not in some spirit world on the other side of the grave. If nature is the only paradise, then separation from nature is the only hell. When we destroy nature, we create hell on earth for other species and for ourselves.
Nature is our mother, our home, our security, our peace, our past and our future.
Science is inherently materialist. It always seek material explanations. It never accepts as an explanation that some spiritual force was at work - if it did, then science and technology would come to an end. Disease was once thought to be caused by witchcraft. Science gave it a material explanation which allowed us to control it. Magnetism at one time seemed like a spiritual force - Thales of Miletus thought that magnets were full of spirits. But then science provided a material explanation.
In the same way scientific pantheism believes that everything that exists is matter or energy in one form or another. Nothing can exist, be perceived, or act on other things if it is not matter or energy. That does not mean that spiritual phenomena or forces cannot exist. It means that, if they do, they must in fact be material.
In scientific pantheism, science becomes a part of the religious quest: the pursuit of deeper understanding of the Reality of which we are all part, deeper knowledge about the awe-inspiring cosmos in which we live, deeper knowledge of nature and the environment, so that we can better preserve the earth's wealth of natural diversity.
In scientific pantheism, cognitive openness - listening to reality, to new evidence, to all the evidence, to other people's needs and feelings - becomes a sacred duty in all aspects of life from science to politics to domestic life.
Of course, we cannot say that science endorses pantheism. Many religions today state their beliefs in ways that no-one can disprove, so they can and do co-exist with science.
But scientific pantheism positively thrives on science. scientific discoveries continually underline the wonder and the mystery of Being, the immensity of the universe, and the complexity of nature.
okay, so it seems some people have run into a couple of rough spots recently. as for me, i've had a better than average day today i think, having finished up my two month-long overdue ying yong wens in under 2 hours-- and juust in time for training. coupled to the fact that i survived training today, yeah today was pretty okay. but not so, it seems, for several others who have been, ah, bitching quite a bit lately about how their life sucks and so on... and most of them are like, the usual freethinkers or so-so christians (staunchies who complain about how life isn't turning out as it should cos' God doesn't seem to be there etc etc. DO NOT COUNT)... and then along comes a supposedly devout christian who goes on to excitedly recount the wonderful healing experience she just had with a spiritual healer. misleading, isn't it? so i shall now make use of whatever influence i wield to try and shift this unhealthy balance of power.
first off, i'd like to state that no, i'm not saying that your experience ain't credible in any way... and yes, i believe the healing part of your story. i think you do owe alot of thanks though to the nice old lady who certainly is very talented in the spiritual sense. for it is rather true that you do not have any evidence whatsoever that it was really a higher being doing the curing for you and not the spiritual healer herself =D) what makes it kinda sad is that ther old lady is so ignorantly unaware of her own innate talents, attributing them instead to a gift from a higher being.
to the others, i have only one thing to add: only WE are in control of our own lives, and it is not surprising at all that if you keep on ranting about how your life sucks and blah your life will just keep on going downhill. see, it really IS important to have a positive outlook on life. after all, life's the only thing that keeps us going, ain't it? so treasure it while you may!
cheers, agentquantum (i SO sound like cherie.)
spacetime rip! by agent quantum , quite possibly
at
4/11/2005 10:30:00 pm :)
