I have had some odd perceptions over the last week.
1) While driving home from work earlier this week, I distinctly sensed an odor a la toasted bagel while driving on the highway. A lovely, cozy smell, to be true. But I was suspicious, as I've never smelled this on that stretch of road before,or any stretch of road. But I had no one in the car with me to verify or discredit that I was crazy for thinking I smelled toasted bagel.
2) While talking with Ben one evening this week, with tired eyes, everything around him became washed out, the light in the room started masking everything, and making it fuzzy, and all I could really see clearly was Ben in the middle of it all. It was like a filter had been applied to a photograph, only it was my real line of sight and not a picture at all. It was difficult for me to focus my eyes enough to make the effect go away, and I ultimately was so bemused by the effect that I stopped trying and just enjoyed the unusual visual perspective.
3) As I was walking out of my office door this morning, it felt like there was a wind current going through the hallway that made the door difficult to open. In reality, it's just a heavy door and I realized after I opened it that there was probably no more resistance in opening it this morning than there has been any other day I've opened it. And there was, most definitely, no wind in the hallway.
I have instinctively manifest some unusual interpretations of the world around me and my senses are getting creative with what they tell my brain is happening. Shoddy first guesses, to be sure. This first lead me to think I'm becoming more of an artist, as this must be often how they experience the world. My second thought is that I'm losing my mind. My third thought is that these are essentially the same thing. I'm in trouble.
Showing posts with label musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musings. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Sunday, February 1, 2009
To believe or To not believe....the audacity of it all!
So, I went to church today.....shocker shocker. Yes, I know it isn't really that much of a shocker.
Anyways, I had a rather interesting conversation with a teacher o' mine about Atheism and Believers. Now prior to entering into a diatribe on the discussion, a few definitions of religiosity will be primarily divulged for the purposes of this conversation. If you don't like my definitions, well, take it up in the comments.
1. Believer - someone who believes in the existence of an almighty being, or superior power (we won't get into, in this post what that superior power is, or who that superior power is.)
2. Knowers - someone who professes to "Know" or have a surety of knowledge of a supreme being, superior power, etc.
3. Agnostic - someone who does not know whether or not there is a superior power, but also does not think that someone can know, or at minimum that they cannot know.
4. Atheist - someone who professes to "Know" or have a surety of knowledge that there is no such thing as a supreme being.
So, with that being said (and mind you, these are crude defintions) I'll launch into the philosophical discussion and how I have come to believe that Atheists, based purely on philosophical reasoning, are completely pompous and arrogant a**es!
So, I would say that the majority of people that read this blog are Believers, and maybe there are a few Knowers, and possibly we have an agnostic or two in the mix....that is if Sharona reads this blog (just kidding). Anyways, the premise is on that a believer, believes that something exists, but does not have a sure knowledge one way or the other, and the flip is an agnostic.....most people are ok with that in some way shape or form. Then there are the extremes, the Knowers and the Atheists. now, to know something exists, is to have a relatively specific knowledge of a certain person, place, or thing. For instance, I know (well, I won't get into what to know is and is not, but for these purposes, it is to have a surety of knowledge as is physically possible, leaving wiggle room for the very fact that we are all human and our knowledge is limited)....I digress....I know that I am in my bed typing on a laptop at 12:56am on a Sunday night, which was a fast sunday, and whereby I attended sacrament meeting. Some Knowers claim to know the supreme being with the same amount of surety as I have that I went to church. Now, becuase I do not know all things and because I am inclined to believe them, I therefore believe that it is possible.
Now take the role of the Atheist. Not only do they not believe that Knowers "know" what they claim to have knowledge of, but also that Believers are also vastly mislead in their delusional adherence to illogical bemusements of a flacid intellect. Moreover, they believe that they know that there is no supreme being. Now to believe a finite thing, is to claim to have a limited knowledge or belief, as in a belief that there is a supreme being. But to claim that none exists, how can one claim that none exists, save one is all knowing, and that one knows all things and comprehends all things to such an extent that there is no supreme being.
I can tolerate the non-believer, and I can tolerate the believer. I can even tolerate the aethist to a certain degree....but that doesn't change the fact that the Aetheist must claim to know more than I believe it is possible to know. I can handle that someone claims they do not believe in a supreme being...but to be able to claim that one does not exist and cannot exist, depends on someone having the knowledge that they understand all things enough to know there is nothing else.
In other words, it is far more presumptious to claim that something does not exist than to claim that something does exist, or you believe it does exist...for to believe that something does exist one must simply have an inkling of knowledge or a sign of existence in one direction or the other.
Similarly to believe that something does not exist, one must simply have an inkling of knowledge or a sign of non-existence.
Moreover to know that somehting exists, one must simply konw of a surety of a small fact....that there is a supreme being.
However, for one to claim to know that something does not exist, one must be prepared and have the knowledge that there is no feasible way for a supreme being to exist. That they must have searched through all the canals of knowledge and depths of contemplation to know that there is nothing there, for they cannot find it in any place whereby they look to prove its existence.
Anyways, that was a tangent in Sunday School, which all that know me, know I thorougly enjoyed it.
Ciao!
Anyways, I had a rather interesting conversation with a teacher o' mine about Atheism and Believers. Now prior to entering into a diatribe on the discussion, a few definitions of religiosity will be primarily divulged for the purposes of this conversation. If you don't like my definitions, well, take it up in the comments.
1. Believer - someone who believes in the existence of an almighty being, or superior power (we won't get into, in this post what that superior power is, or who that superior power is.)
2. Knowers - someone who professes to "Know" or have a surety of knowledge of a supreme being, superior power, etc.
3. Agnostic - someone who does not know whether or not there is a superior power, but also does not think that someone can know, or at minimum that they cannot know.
4. Atheist - someone who professes to "Know" or have a surety of knowledge that there is no such thing as a supreme being.
So, with that being said (and mind you, these are crude defintions) I'll launch into the philosophical discussion and how I have come to believe that Atheists, based purely on philosophical reasoning, are completely pompous and arrogant a**es!
So, I would say that the majority of people that read this blog are Believers, and maybe there are a few Knowers, and possibly we have an agnostic or two in the mix....that is if Sharona reads this blog (just kidding). Anyways, the premise is on that a believer, believes that something exists, but does not have a sure knowledge one way or the other, and the flip is an agnostic.....most people are ok with that in some way shape or form. Then there are the extremes, the Knowers and the Atheists. now, to know something exists, is to have a relatively specific knowledge of a certain person, place, or thing. For instance, I know (well, I won't get into what to know is and is not, but for these purposes, it is to have a surety of knowledge as is physically possible, leaving wiggle room for the very fact that we are all human and our knowledge is limited)....I digress....I know that I am in my bed typing on a laptop at 12:56am on a Sunday night, which was a fast sunday, and whereby I attended sacrament meeting. Some Knowers claim to know the supreme being with the same amount of surety as I have that I went to church. Now, becuase I do not know all things and because I am inclined to believe them, I therefore believe that it is possible.
Now take the role of the Atheist. Not only do they not believe that Knowers "know" what they claim to have knowledge of, but also that Believers are also vastly mislead in their delusional adherence to illogical bemusements of a flacid intellect. Moreover, they believe that they know that there is no supreme being. Now to believe a finite thing, is to claim to have a limited knowledge or belief, as in a belief that there is a supreme being. But to claim that none exists, how can one claim that none exists, save one is all knowing, and that one knows all things and comprehends all things to such an extent that there is no supreme being.
I can tolerate the non-believer, and I can tolerate the believer. I can even tolerate the aethist to a certain degree....but that doesn't change the fact that the Aetheist must claim to know more than I believe it is possible to know. I can handle that someone claims they do not believe in a supreme being...but to be able to claim that one does not exist and cannot exist, depends on someone having the knowledge that they understand all things enough to know there is nothing else.
In other words, it is far more presumptious to claim that something does not exist than to claim that something does exist, or you believe it does exist...for to believe that something does exist one must simply have an inkling of knowledge or a sign of existence in one direction or the other.
Similarly to believe that something does not exist, one must simply have an inkling of knowledge or a sign of non-existence.
Moreover to know that somehting exists, one must simply konw of a surety of a small fact....that there is a supreme being.
However, for one to claim to know that something does not exist, one must be prepared and have the knowledge that there is no feasible way for a supreme being to exist. That they must have searched through all the canals of knowledge and depths of contemplation to know that there is nothing there, for they cannot find it in any place whereby they look to prove its existence.
Anyways, that was a tangent in Sunday School, which all that know me, know I thorougly enjoyed it.
Ciao!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tired, oh so tired!
*****WARNING SHALLOW MATERIALISTIC CENTRIC POST BELOW.....READER BEWARE******
So, I don't know how to follow up on a post like that, after all, mine is going to seem so lame compared to that insanely overdramatic, yet life altering potential experience. But, I guess you got to suck it up and move on from there...so I'll post anyways. After all, it is post here or post on my law firm blog, and who really wants to do that? :)
So let's see, the house renovations are coming along. One room should be done this weekend and the rest is just about to be started I think (crosses fingers that money still comes in from somewhere). Work hasn't been speedy to start the year, but networking has been exhausting, and I am not sure how and/or where it is coming from...and I have gotten some good projects in lately which always makes me happy, but alas, I digress into thinking about what I always think about and not what I wanted to be thinking about (see what happens when I talk about renovations and money....always back to work work work work work.)
After reading Sharona's post about risky questions, I wondered what in the world would be risky questions to ask me....and I realized I don't have any...go figure. Not that I state that there are any issues that don't concern me, or I hope never materialize, but I don't think there is a question that could be posed that would make me freak out all night, or that would send me into a tizzy...but I doubt that any question could be posed that may have as an immediate impact on my life as Sharona's, except for ones that I have fully come to grips with and while I do hope they never transpire, am fully aware that they could.
That all being said, I woke up this morning exhausted, and I mean exhausted...and it has only been a few days since I have been at it...am I getting old? Well we all know the answer to that....impossible, but I had an interesting conversation yesterday that led me to ponder about this in my sleep.
A very wealthy individual whom I know and I work with and I were sitting down discussing a deal, and somehow we got on the topic of Madoff and the whole ponzi schema and related....and some how we got on to this individual that has manufacturers in various countries that make lots of clothing and what not, and how this one guy lost all of his money with Madoff, and how he couldn't change the guys mindset into how to make lots of other money another way, blah blah blah blah blah...and then he said something that made me think:
"Most people make all their money in life in a 20 year period, usually between their mid-twenties to their mid-forties, and sometimes into their fifties....but usually they work really hard for ten years, and then work hard and reap the benefits of the next ten, and then live off of basically their really hard work for the next fifty."
Now obviously he was talking about people that make some seriuos dough...we aren't talking about people that make $40-$50k a year (not that there is anything wrong with that...just not the context of the conversation)....but it was interesting that his thoughts were 1. you work hard for 20 years, and 2....really most of it comes in the first 10 years, but you still work hard for another 10 while you are just starting to cash in on that hard work.
For me, I couldn't imagine that I would only work hard for 20 years...it just seems odd...does that mean that I won't work as hard as the guys that get really rich, and therefore, I am destined to work at this pace for the rest of my life? Cause although I do like to work hard, I don't know if I could keep this pace up for the next 40. Anwyays, just a very lame shallow money based post.
Thoughts?
So, I don't know how to follow up on a post like that, after all, mine is going to seem so lame compared to that insanely overdramatic, yet life altering potential experience. But, I guess you got to suck it up and move on from there...so I'll post anyways. After all, it is post here or post on my law firm blog, and who really wants to do that? :)
So let's see, the house renovations are coming along. One room should be done this weekend and the rest is just about to be started I think (crosses fingers that money still comes in from somewhere). Work hasn't been speedy to start the year, but networking has been exhausting, and I am not sure how and/or where it is coming from...and I have gotten some good projects in lately which always makes me happy, but alas, I digress into thinking about what I always think about and not what I wanted to be thinking about (see what happens when I talk about renovations and money....always back to work work work work work.)
After reading Sharona's post about risky questions, I wondered what in the world would be risky questions to ask me....and I realized I don't have any...go figure. Not that I state that there are any issues that don't concern me, or I hope never materialize, but I don't think there is a question that could be posed that would make me freak out all night, or that would send me into a tizzy...but I doubt that any question could be posed that may have as an immediate impact on my life as Sharona's, except for ones that I have fully come to grips with and while I do hope they never transpire, am fully aware that they could.
That all being said, I woke up this morning exhausted, and I mean exhausted...and it has only been a few days since I have been at it...am I getting old? Well we all know the answer to that....impossible, but I had an interesting conversation yesterday that led me to ponder about this in my sleep.
A very wealthy individual whom I know and I work with and I were sitting down discussing a deal, and somehow we got on the topic of Madoff and the whole ponzi schema and related....and some how we got on to this individual that has manufacturers in various countries that make lots of clothing and what not, and how this one guy lost all of his money with Madoff, and how he couldn't change the guys mindset into how to make lots of other money another way, blah blah blah blah blah...and then he said something that made me think:
"Most people make all their money in life in a 20 year period, usually between their mid-twenties to their mid-forties, and sometimes into their fifties....but usually they work really hard for ten years, and then work hard and reap the benefits of the next ten, and then live off of basically their really hard work for the next fifty."
Now obviously he was talking about people that make some seriuos dough...we aren't talking about people that make $40-$50k a year (not that there is anything wrong with that...just not the context of the conversation)....but it was interesting that his thoughts were 1. you work hard for 20 years, and 2....really most of it comes in the first 10 years, but you still work hard for another 10 while you are just starting to cash in on that hard work.
For me, I couldn't imagine that I would only work hard for 20 years...it just seems odd...does that mean that I won't work as hard as the guys that get really rich, and therefore, I am destined to work at this pace for the rest of my life? Cause although I do like to work hard, I don't know if I could keep this pace up for the next 40. Anwyays, just a very lame shallow money based post.
Thoughts?
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