Do we need to believe in anything in order to have an identity? Well, yes, if only in order to believe we have to HAVE an identity. Is it necessary for us to have an identity? Yes and no. No, if we lead a basic, simple life where our choices are obvious and our actions are direct. Yes, if other. My life is complicated as hell. I couldn't maintain it without an identity to relate to for rules of order. Without superimposing order on my life through the principles of my identity it would fall apart and I'd have to start all over again. I don't want to start all over again. In fact, I don't think I could so it's a matter of life and death for me at least in my imagination. Maybe I could start over again, lead a simpler life. I don't know for sure and that's why I don't. My complicated life is all right. I have no joy but I have enthusiasms and satisfactions and love. That's why I like Gableplunk. He lives a life that I dream of: freedom to think about who he is, where he's going, etc. I have only time for fleeting thoughts on these subjects. Time is always compressed for me. I sometimes feel like a piece of meat in a pressure cooker, being acted upon by my own and other peoples' expectations. Of course I never explode, at least not to the detriment of anyone else. When I reach that level I take a vacation which I wouldn't have to take if I didn't need to maintain my complicated lifestyle. It's a merry go round but I do it well and it's part of my identity, even all of it as some people have told me. So that proves my thesis. Doesn't it?
10 Comments:
Teale-Marie concurs:
It makes them feel happy--or safe (not necessarily an overlap there). Then most of the time they cloak the delusion in one religious identification or another.
Russ here.
R - Yep. It’s a helluva phenomenon. It’s as though people are their own creatures from outer space.
Russ here, again.
If people ARE what they believe, if their identities are all wrapped up in their belief systems, why don’t they pick a belief system that they like best? A couple of reasons might be
that they’re too lazy or too frightened to change because they’re already
ensconced in an exclusivity laden belief system from the time they were children.
Well then, what’s the best belief system you may ask and I might answer,
unequivocally, Buddhism because its main tenets revolve around eliminating the characteristics in us that cause so many problems, characteristics, individually and socially, such as exclusivity, psychological, spiritual and social discrimination and
judgement, rampant egoism, all of which take the forms of personal (and religious)opposition and strife. Buddhism tries to eliminate these character flaws and guide the practitioner towards a more balanced perspective and social and world view.
Am I a Buddhist? No. Even Buddhism is too tame for me. I prefer a belief system which is no belief system, the system of no-mind or empty mindedness which is no system at all. However, for people who NEED the comforts of a system upon which they can hang their religious identities I recommend Buddhism.
Spirituality is another thing. It can take almost any form at all: pick and choose the characteristics and practices you like best from thousands available. To do this you must be exploratory and not lazy or self satisfied. I know people who have combined elements of Christianity’s belief in Jesus with reincarnation (an unofficial Hindu belief)and some of the understandings of ego common to Buddhism and called it ‘their own
religion.’ Others have added elements of Confucianism and Judaism which have
somewhat similar outlooks insofar as they recommend that people depend on LAWS to guide their behaviors. Some others add elements of Native American religions. I enjoy talking with people who ‘mix and match.’ The religious concoctions they come up with are fascinating and usually very life affirming. If you do nothing else
important for the rest of your life I recommend that you buy a book on the Religions Of The World, study it and pick the happiest characteristics from each of them and make them parts of ‘your own religion.’ If you really want to be happy this is one way to go.
We’re lucky we’re living in this century in the ‘west’ where we won’t be murdered for our choices of beliefs. At least not by the great majority of law abiding citizens. I know several fundamentalist Christians who would eliminate all other people except
those who share their own beliefs if they could. I’m not kidding. They think that would be best. Although they won’t admit it they’re very hostile and hide their feelings in theoretical rationalizations while claiming that they know what God thinks. They’re a little unreal and it’s a little frightening to imagine what the world would be like if they had a lot of power. They need some Buddhist training by a strict
Buddhist priest to whack the crap out of them.
I preach tolerance and communication of ideas not exclusivity, hostility, fear and perverse psychological twisting, that is IF I were to preach, which I do not. Find your own way and respect others’ ways. We can all learn from each other and learning about different ideas is one of life’s pleasures.
Harris, NYC
First off I think I’m changing my name to Larry Lexicon.
The definition of despot is from Greek for master, lord or autocrat. A ruler with
absolute power and authority. A person exercising power tyrannically.
The religious right are a bunch of despots or would-be despots. They would like to
absolutely rule the morality of America. They exercise their rights and succeed in
influencing our politicians through PACS and donations to both political parties and
individual politicians. This is not a big deal. Everyone knows this and more or less
puts up with it rationalizing that any group has a right to their opinions and methods.
However the religions right also believes that America is a Christian nation. They are
wrong. America is a nation which has a lot of Christians living in it. It is not a
Christian nation as in America we have a constitutionally guaranteed separation of
State and Church(es). Take another look at the definition of despot. You’ll see the
word ‘tyrannical’ mentioned. This nation was formed in a struggle against tyranny.
Remember the phrase, “Taxation without representation is tyranny?” The definition
of tyranny is oppressive power or government by one person with unlimited power
which fit the King of England at the time. The Christian right is not one person but
they act under a unified morality which makes them appear as a single entity. Lots
of groups act under a unified set of rules and the Christian right is not exceptional in
this sense however, few try to stuff their rules down the throats of everyone else and
in this sense the Christian right IS exceptional. Since America was founded in a
struggle against despotism and tyranny, any group or individual espousing such or
acting in such manner is by definition anti-American.
Gableplunk doesn’t seem to be politically oriented since his story is psychological
and/or spiritual. However there are places in his story where he struggles against
the forces of despotism that he senses around him in society and within himself as he
has absorbed some of the values, expectations, attitudes and propaganda of said
forces and social structures into which he was born. He feels stifled by these forces
and seeks relief. He seeks his own identity, which would be free of the forces which
would stultify his growth and spiritual needs. So, too, do we as a nation of people
need to find relief from the fanatical forces of the Christian right. Why do moderate
Muslims not speak out against the policies of their fanatical right? Because they are
cowed by the men of their faith who demand of them adherence to the literal words
of the Quran which demands that all Muslims put to death anyone who is not a
Muslim or who refuses to convert to Islam (I Slam) or refuses to act in concert with
the edicts of their leaders (no separation of church and state) who demand such
action as a sign of the faithful. They are afraid. So, too, are moderate, reasonable
Christians cowed by the heavy handedness (indecent spirituality) of their own
fanatics, however, to a lesser extent, as it is simply illegal in America to forcibly
overthrow the government or murder people with differing spiritual beliefs. Lest you
believe that I, Larry Lexicon, am a bleeding heart liberal, I am not. If you compare
America and other western nations to what’s available in the rest of the world, we are
living in a cornucopia of luxurious freedoms which we need to more fully appreciate
and fight for at least within the boundaries of our own country by standing up to the
religious bullies, the corporate scammers, the sell-out politicians and anyone else who
would screw your eyes out for power or a buck.
Francine from Cape Hatteras
Robots
People have feelings of discomfort when they are unstructured: disorganized,
overwhelmed, out of control. They ameliorate these feelings of discomfort by
engaging in repetitive tasks which lead them to feel structured, in control and
centered again. Repetitiveness is a cornerstone of human behavior. We build robots
to do repetitive tasks. Did you ever consider the idea that humans may be robots?
Built perhaps by some creatures from outer space? Perhaps a few of us were left
behind when our creators left. We reproduced over the millennia until we have our
current population.
Edward from Billings, Montana
I examined my memories and I found that the only aspect of my memories that’s
consistent is concepts. Other aspects such as emotionally based memories, feelings
based memories and remembrances of things and thoughts past are indeed
incomplete, vague and fragmented. Only abstract concepts remain clear, complete
and able to be recreated accurately each and every time. So then it’s best to base
our identities on concepts - which, to a great degree, is how our culture and society is
created, maintained and refined. Therefore we are at our best, identity-wise, when
being part of a world of concepts.
Susan from Austin
So, would you have us be completely cultural beings, social creatures only, with no ‘individuality?’
Uli from Hamburg
I’ve read articles over that last few years about organ transplanting. It seems that some of the people who have had other people’s organs transplanted into them awaken from their operations and begin to have memories of the other person’s life (the donor of the organ). They’ve never met the donor. These memories have been checked out by questioning the donors immediate families. Spooky. Where do memories reside?
Nexi from Ontario
What about impressions? Maybe they’re created as a more pervasive and less specific mnemonic function (biologically speaking) because of the lack of storage space (computerese) in our heads or nervous systems. Impressions are shortened summaries of bunches of memories. They save space and allow us to make decisions based on overviews of groups of memories of similar experiences. So, our dentities are multi-leveled. However, as memories are illusions because of their incompleteness, imagine how illusory are our impressions!
Frederick from Lake of the Woods
Imagination is based on memory and extended memories of experiences we never had but absorbed through watching TV or reading. So our imaginations are exercises in illusion creation. That’s what art is. But art isn’t reality. Or is it?
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