T36 - Unconscious, Soul and Unknowability - C 10

Unconscious, soul and unknowability. Helluva group. They seem similar, words from different disciplines, but similar..... hard to tell where one ends and another begins. Personally I've never been able to figure out what a soul is. Oh, I understand the common meaning, that part of us which is immortal, but I've never felt it or seen it or experienced its presence in any way so it's hard for me to comprehend what it is. I've talked to Priests about it and they each have given me more or less the same definition and tell me that I have to develop my faith. When I've asked them 'what is faith?' they tell me it's belief in something or someone without evidence. I can't understand this. It's so contrary to reasonable thinking and behavior. I'm told, 'that's the point. Faith begins where rationality ends.' That makes no sense to me. I'm to make a jump from reasonable thinking to irrational belief in things which make no sense? Okay. Give it a chance. Makes no sense to me but I'm aware that several thousand million people do this. I wonder why and how? I'm guessing that this other type of thinking-feeling is put into their heads when they're children when they're undeveloped in all ways and will believe almost anything that other people tell them. It doesn't seem fair to me to put irrational ideas into the minds of children when they can't defend themselves. At least parents ought to explain to their children that there are all sorts of strange beliefs in the world and they ought to learn about as many as they can before choosing which ones they'd like to indulge in when they're eighteen or twenty one or older. But, I suppose this would be like throwing all religions into a hat and telling kids that they're all more or less equal so pick a few, consider them over the years and pick one you like or don't pick any at all. This would probably be anathema to all religions who thrive on exclusivity and bolster their identities by offering their followers all sorts of claptrap which makes them feel more important and better than everyone else. These tactics are shrewd psychology used to lure people and then manipulate them for various reasons. It seems sad to me that this goes on, the Pied Pipers and the Lemmings of the religions of the world. It always seems to end up in wars, another crazy form of political manipulation of the masses, again, for one reason or another..... by one power block against another, by another vested interest over yet another. I guess this is human nature and all people take part in it either as leaders or (vicarious) followers. But you know, no one has to sign up for this. You can just ignore it and go your own way (except in countries that have zero freedom - I know, I know, there are a lot of people who proclaim that our freedom in America is only an illusion and that we're all manipulated from cradle to grave on every level imaginable and this is, in effect, the same situation that people are in in countries that have no guarantees of freedom or even the slightest illusion of providing it.). Nevertheless even in those places you can ignore the maniacs at least in your own head while giving lip service to those who would kill you for your thoughts. Like in Europe in the dark and middle ages and in the middle east in modern times.

The unconscious I can understand because it's a psychological idea, a concept, not a faith, for which there is at least some evidence and even if the evidence borders on fiction at least the psychologists are not seeking penalties for other peoples' disbelief, at least not yet, because they ARE rational people. However, maybe if we give them enough time.....

Unknowability: is this a word? Sounds adventurous to me. Spirituality, the unconscious, mystery, art, even newly developing science all offer peeks into the unknown. And the unknown eventually becomes known through exploration. I suppose even religions began this way but why did they become codified? You don't need codes to have a sense of wonder which is the joy of life especially spiritual life. Maybe it's because people speak with words and words (and images), as any Madison Avenue advertising executive will tell you, are there expressly for the purpose of manipulating people for one's own ends. Does this sound like anything you've read in the Bible?