GenerationThink

Freedom from dependences, This week is a week in which we will find opportunities to free ourselves from certain dependences. Given it be emotional, physical, or situational. The energies in play this week, that will manifest in both incorporeal and temporal existences, are as follows: Rest and repose, persevere and create, eloquent and confident, peaceful and harmonious. There is a mystic energy aglow that provides us with a window to view conditions outside of the 'room' we are in. Basically, if you choose, you can see the bigger picture in all that you do on a daily bases. Among all things, this will help you gain an insight on the coming year: 2011. You have the opportunity to begin building this coming year's foundation. You can see things in a greater light. It becomes easy to control yourself as you grow more cognoscente of your surroundings. Connected to Humanity by a Connection to the Universe This will reflect in a manner most effective after you have realize...

It’s absolutely devastating that most people resort to building worthless bonds that carry no connection to what is important to them. I’m talking about people settling for others that do not inspire, arouse, reflect, observe, care, even love them for who they are. the description I just gave are the attributes of individuals who have lost hope in themselves, and subsequently have lost hope in others. if u cant relate, connect, and most importantly-MUTUALLY- yearn and desire each others company, then you are missing out on all that’s good in life. It’s rare to find a person worth time to spend on. It’s ridiculous how a majority of people are looking to use themselves as a commodity. As a commodity to instant sexual pleasure. Among other things to think about, such as STDs, heart ache, etc., these people have a lack of self-worth, self-esteem, and a poor self-concept. When you chose you’re partner, whether it be for a long term relationship or a short-time “sex buddy” you should make...

Be yourself, and show them who that is... The turning point, I think, was when I really realized that you can do it yourself. That you have to believe in you because sometimes that's the only person that does believe in your success but you. Tim Blixseth Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful. Mark Victor Hansen Believing in yourself is the only why you’ll get to know yourself. A. Alex Yarijanian

Coexist I have a different idea of a universal. It is of a universal rich with all that is particular, rich with all the particulars there are, the deepening of each particular, the coexistence of them all.   - A. Cesaire

We Want Peace

When the time of death arrives, make certain that all you have left to do in life is to die.

Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) on the Philosophy of Life What Gives Life Meaning? Unable to find answers through scientific and philosophical inquiry, Tolstoy turns to biblical Christianity for the meaning of life. He thus accepts the Christian account of creation, purpose, and destiny of the world. Faith Provides Life's Meaning   The rational knowledge did not provide any meaning of life; this knowledge excluded life, while the meaning which, by all humanity, was ascribed to life was based on some despised, false knowledge. Tolstoy maintains that the rational knowledge in the person of the learned and the wise denied the meaning of life. The philosophical inquiry of life's purpose thus does not fulfill Tolstoy. He states: "philosophical knowledge does not negate anything, but only answers that the question cannot be solved by it, that for philosophy, the solution remains insoluble."

Albert Camus (1913 - 1960) on the Philosophy of Life.  What Gives Life Meaning? Camus examines "the absurd hero", the person condemned to endless, meaningless toil. Camus depicts Sisyphus, which stands as a symbol for all mankind: all human effort is equally devoid of meaning. Camus represents the agnostic existentialist position on the meaning of life.    Although this absurd world cannot guarantee a future, it can free the existential human being to become what he or she wishes. A person's life is cast in terms of two existentialist values: (1) the revolt against conformity and the absurd, and (2) the freedom felt through existentially free choices. Each Person Determines His or Her Life's Meaning [ABSURDITY AND SUICIDE] There is only one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. In a sense, and as in melodrama, killing yourself amounts to confessing. It is confessing that life is too much for you or...

ARISTOTLE (384-322 BCE) on Aesthetics,  Answering the question of What Is The Function of Art. Aristotle explains the paradox of tragedy with his doctrine of catharsis , which states that tragedy provokes emotions of pity and fear to the extent that they are purged from the individual, who takes pleasure in that purgation. THE CATHARSIS THEORY: (VI) [Definition of tragedy. Six elements in tragedy. Plot, or the representation of the action, is of primary importance; character and thought come next in order.]     Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.  Thought and character are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions again all success or failure depends.

They are not at leisure whose pleasures involve a serious  commitment.  For example, nobody will dispute that those people are busy about nothing who spend their time on useless literary studies: even among the Romans there is now a large company of these.  It used to be a Greek failing to want to know how many oarsmen Ulysses had, whether the Iliad or the Odyssey was written first, and whether too they were by the same author, and other questions of this kind, which if you keep them to yourself in no way enhance your private knowledge, and if you publish them make you appear more a bore than a scholar. -Seneca, On the Shortness of Life, Life is Long if You Know How to Use It Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, On the Shortness of Life , transl. C. D. N. Costa, Penguin Books – Great Ideas, New York, 2005  

Good friends are like stars in the sky,    You don't always see them, but you know they're always there.

I am God, you are God, God is within us. You have to sink deep within yourself, to know yourself. And maybe then you'll realize the God within you. At the same time, you'll realize that that same God that exists within you also exists within others. Thus, You exert yourself into a universal force that exists within you. All the universe with its stars. All the universe within yourself. It is almost too easy to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of this philosophically empowering principle. This principle that is called the Mystic Law is far too great. It is no match for our human capacity to comprehend.   However, what isn't without our reach when we know the power we possess? What if I told you that you are the center of your environment? What if I tell you: you, yourself, can reach an ultimate state of enlightenment? Would that entice your inquisitive nature? Would you be inclined to investigate this door I have just opened for you? Perhaps, you are eager for knowledge. Do ...

AIM HIGH | Never tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) on Social and Political Philosophy,  answering the question of which government is best.   COMMUNISM: Is a combination of some of the best known types of economic and political systems. Communism nearly always combines a state economic system with dictatorship; fascism, which is a modified capitalism with a dictatorship; and democracy, which most often is a combination of political democracy with capitalism.   Karl Marx in his famous Communist Manifesto applies his own principles of materialism and dialectical method to the problems of society. The Communist Manifesto contains a general theory of history, and analysis of the ills of European society, a program of revolutionary action, and, finally, a plea for the union of the laboring classes. Communism  Marx divides the history of men into two groups (the oppressors and the oppressed): the Bourgeois (according to Marxist theory, relati...

By Ayn Rand WHAT IS CAPITALISM? | AYN RAND (Notes taken while listening to her lecture. Please note that the following is a paraphrased synopsis of this lecture) In one's evaluation and approach to political economy, one must begin by identifying man's nature. That is, those essential characteristics that distinguish him from all other living beings. Man's essential characteristic is his rational faculty. Man's mind is his basic means for survival and gaining knowledge.  In order to preserve itself, every living being must follow a certain course of action required by its nature. The action it takes to preserve human life is primarily intellectual. Everything man needs must be discovered by his mind, and produced by his effort. Production is the application of reason to the process of survival. Men prosper or fail, survive or perish in proportion to the degree of their rationality. Since the choice to exercise his rational faculty or not depends on the individu...

By Dwight R. Lee (from IR 44:0, Spring 2009) Lee talks about the distortion of capitalism by the intrusive political involvement of the government in 'free trade'. The more government control in free enterprise, the greater the failure of its success. Keep in mind that Ayn Rand is the underlying figure of Lee's position.   Lee's Stance on Health Care: People are spending more on medical care because the success of markets and freedom has increased their wealth and made medical care worth more than ever. Government policies are causing medical spending and costs to be greater than necessary by distorting markets and restricting freedom   As government policies have reduced the ability of markets to provide better medical care at lower real costs, the political response has been to dismiss markets as having failed and then claim more government control is required to ensure "better care at lowering costs."  

John Stuart Mill on Social and Political Philosophy. Addressing the Nature of Liberty: What is Liberty? [Class Notes for Philosophy 1 Students; Exam III] A Glimpse of Mill and his Argument:   In arguing against the repression if any opinion, Mill sets forth the following argument: If an opinion is suppressed, and it is true, then we lose the opportunity of exchanging truth for falsehood. If an opinion is suppressed, and it is false, then we lose the opportunity of obtaining a clearer conception of our own position. Hence, there shouldn’t be any censorship of political speech.    Liberty Is Independence From the Majority's Tyranny The subject of this essay is on Civil, or Social, Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual.   Mill presents two ways in which the patriots limitations on the ruler's power: (1) by obtaining a recognition of certain i...

John Locke on Social and Political Government. Addressing the question of which is best. [Class Notes for Philosophy 1 Students; Exam III] A Glimpse of Locke and his Influence: No other individual influenced the author of the Declaration of Independence more than Unitarian John Locke (1632-1704). He was a British philosopher who rejected the idea that Kings had a divine right to rule. Instead, Locke argued that people are the source of power, not kings.  Locke argued that people are born with certain "natural" or "inalienable" rights. These include the right to "life, liberty and property." Government did not give people these rights; rather they are born with them and as such, no government can take them away.  According to Locke, people formed governments to protect their rights, which he called a "social contract." People agreed to obey the government and in return, government had the responsibility to protect peoples'...

Now we are not merely to stick knowledge on to the soul: we must incorporate it into her; the soul should not be sprinkled with knowledge but steeped in it.  Lucius Annaeus Seneca (c. 1 BC – 65 AD)

The innovative and progressive thinkers of today are now tackling the homeless issue facing Los Angeles. In an ideal situation homeless individuals would be placed almost immediately into permanent housing, however, this is an impractical ideal. Nonetheless a more fitting concept would be that of a transitional shelter-yet more specifically- a portable transitional shelter .  Tina Hovsepian, inventor of Cardborigami ( www.Cardborigami.org ), is in the development of an outreach center where the homeless can  assemble their own temporary shelters.  The aim is to provide an immediate transitional shelter to aid homeless individuals, and natural disasters' victims, who are in desperate need of an immediate, reliable, and portable shelter. Through this outreach program these individuals will have the opportunity to move into permanent housing. Created in 2007, the Cardborigami is a portable shelter made of treated cardboard that is folded into an origami structure (for more...

Through Girl Up’s support, girls have the opportunity to become:  educated, healthy, safe, counted, and positioned to be the next generation of leaders. I Am Involved... Are You? The United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign gives American girls the opportunity to channel their energy and compassion to raise awareness and funds for programs of the United Nations that help some of the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls. Through Girl Up’s support, more girls will become educated, healthy, safe, counted, and positioned to be the next generation of leaders. Go to: http://www.girlup.org/

Diana, Princess of Wales, (July 1, 1961 - August 31, 1997) Diana supported numerous charities and organizations, including those who working with the homeless, youth, drug addicts and the elderly as well as those suffering from AIDS and leprosy. During her final year, Diana lent highly visible support to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a campaign that went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 after her death. On 31 August 1997, Diana died in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris. An estimated 2.5 billion people watched the princess' funeral. Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can. -Princess Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales  

Social and Political Philosophy: What is Liberty?  Philosophical Category: Fyodor Dostoevsky (1822-1881) This a chapter in Dostoevsky's book titled The Brothers Karamazov. The brothers one named Ivan(an intellectual who has grown skeptical of traditional beliefs) and the other Alyosha (a man of faith, training to become a future Christian priest). Ivan is telling Alyosha about a story he has written about a Spanish Cardinal called The Grand Inquisitor. Ivan imagines Christ returning to earth and meeting this Cardinal who has been responsible for burning a hundred heretics (def: heretics are people who hold unorthodox religious beliefs) the day before. The Grand Inquisitor recognizes Christ and imprisons him. Then, Ivan explains why Christ must also be sentenced to death by fire. In the eyes of this Grand Inquisitor, Christ's heresy consists of the value he placed on one's freedom of choice and conscience. The...

Philosophy of Religion: Does The Idea of A Good God Exclude Evil? Philosophical Category: Leibniz is a creative eclecticism, a synthesis of ancient and modern thought without parallel in philosophical history . Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) Leibniz considers the second major question that philosophy of religion faces. The first question being God's existence and the second question centering on the nature of God. He insists that the definition of God as a perfect being is not only fully intelligible but, in a manner similar to St. Anselm's, demonstrates by itself God's existence. Evil then must be understood as fully compatible with both God's existence and the freedom of human beings.  God Can Allow Some Evil The best plan is not always that which seeks to avoid evil, since it may happen that he evil is accompanied by a greater good. It is not at all to be admitted that there is more evil than good in the ...

  Veteran Cameron White Anti War Rally speech at the ANTI WAR AFGHANISTAN & IRAQ WAR - March 20 2010 As far as we are concerned, every single death in the last eight years, and every death in every war that was ever fought represents life needlessly wasted, a mother’s labour spurned -(Betty Williams Nobel Peace Lecture)

I'm starting to get to know my Gohonzon*. This Gohonzon* is a reflection of myself in the way I exist in the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is a plain where no mind can fathom. This realm is nonspatial and nontemporal, and that is precisely is why it is a realm that could be moved, altered, and adjusted at anytime. The only thing this corporeal world and the spiritual realm have in common, is that they both are in a constant state of change. This is what relates and allows these two plains to function with one another, perhaps, be ultimately integrated into one entity as a whole. The bridge that links these two worlds, one world being abstract  and the other remaining tangible, is the person. That is the reason why humans posses such profound power at times. This congruity, once achieved, realizes an individual in both of these worlds at once. The existence of the person grows bold in the tangible realm of existence, while, awaking the soul in the abstract realm of the spirit...

Philosophy of Religion: Does The Idea of A Good God Exclude Evil? Philosophical Category: Hume is an empiricist, empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge arises from evidence gathered via sense experience. David Hume (1711-1776) Hume argues that a very good, wise, and powerful being, even if not infinite, would not produce a world full of vice, misery, and disorder as our own. These ills are the result of four conditions of humans and nature: The striving for survival and self-preservation The limited powers of all creatures to confront their problems The laws of nature(whose results in general bring about these miseries The aberrant, bizarre events in nature itself that result in disorder. Hume's solution is a skeptical one: that the human mind is incapable of understanding the nature of God. Perhaps God cannot be infinitely perfect, and some of his perfects logically contradict others. If this is...

Philosophy of Religion: Can We Prove That God Exists? Philosophical Category: Pragmatic   (the doctrine that the meaning of an idea or a proposition lies in its observable practical consequences) William James (1842-1910) Pragmatist- expresses his sympathy with Pascal's position by a vigorous defense of our right to believe and freedom to do so, regardless of the logical and scientific objections to believing without "sufficient evidence."   Religious belief, for James, while not being simply analogous to a game of chance, relies upon human choice more than human rationality. Free Choice is The Basis of Belief James begins with asking his reader to adopt a believing attitude in religious matters, in spit of the fact that merely logical intellect may not have been coerced. Give the name hypotheses to anything that may be proposed to our belief; and break (Hypotheses) down into two branches: live or dead hypotheses. A Live hypothese...

Philosophy of Religion: Can We Prove That God Exists? Philosophical Category: Pragmatic   (Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that impractical ideas are to be rejected.) Blaise Pascal (1623-62) Pascal maintains that no argument for God's existence is satisfactory and belief alone is necessary for religious life. For Pascal, no rational proof for or against God's existence exists. Basically, One chooses to believe or not. Pascal asks us to consider two alternatives: either God exists or He doesn’t exist. If He does not exist, we lose nothing by believing he does exist. If he does exist, however, we lose everything if we choose not to believe. The belief in God, according to Pascal, comes from emotion, not reason. Pascal contends...