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Seeing the world from other viewpoints… October 23, 2006

Posted by bodhidude in : Psychology , add a comment

In so much of the debate that happens today it seems that there are very different perspectives, world views or paradigms conflicting in a lot of the discussion. Much of it is just good debate but there is also conflict as well. We all have our own way of looking at the world/universe whatever we identify it as. The question that really comes up is are we open to accepting that there is more than one valid way of looking at the world? I say “valid” here because we all know that there are multiple ways of looking at the world but are we open to there being more than one way to see things that yields meaning and usefulness.

If we are open to other ways of seeing things then a further question is can we fully step into another approach so that we can truly evaluate it and see if there is any value or meaning to it? What I think happens quite often is that someone coming from one world view or paradigm looks at an explanation or viewpoint from another world view or paradigm and judges it based on their approach but doesn’t necessarily step into the other viewpoint in order to see it from that perspective. For example if I am coming from a scientific viewpoint and I look at a Buddhist explanation of consciousness and apply scientific principles to that explanation then I might conclude that it is invalid because it doesn’t adhere to those principles. But this doesn’t really accomplish anything because the Buddhist explanation is coming from a different viewpoint and scientific principles have little or no applicability for it. In order to understand the Buddhist explanation you have to step into that system of thought and only then can you grasp the meaning behind it and determine if it has any value to you. I think its important to note that a particular set of principles may only be relevant within the system of thought in which it originated and may have little or no meaning within another system of thought.

Being able to step into seeing the universe, others and ourselves from different perspectives can loosen our sense of the world being a certain way and open us to a more expansive viewpoint as well as generating new knowledge and understanding derived from experience in other ways of knowing.

The delusions of science and materialism October 15, 2006

Posted by bodhidude in : Society , add a comment

Our society is mired in a materialistic paradigm that has degenerated into something of a pseudo-religion among its most fanatical adherents. Science is a double-edged sword in our society today in my view. It has allowed us to advance our understanding of the physical world to a great degree and create a highly advanced technology that stretches across most or all areas of knowledge. However it has also had a very destructive effect as well. The materialistic approach and its underlying beliefs have brought the planet and humankind itself to the edge of destruction. Our material worldview has blinded us to seeing the earth as a living breathing life supporting organism and instead systematically stripped it of its resources and polluted its atmosphere to a point where its ability to function to sustain life is being compromised. Our materialistic views of our bodies and health have caused us to reject natural medicine and adopt a drug culture where we regularly poison ourselves with synthetic chemicals that alter our body’s functions in ways we don’t fully understand. We add chemicals to our food and genetically engineer plants and animals while we destroy the biodiversity of the planet and create a new set of diseases never before seen in human history. Our worldview and technology create such a rigid and intense relationship to time that we find ourselves living in a world where stress and stress related diseases are the norm and we seldom have time to really take care of ourselves. The meaning that our forefathers found in all aspects of their world has been stripped away by a cold materialistic understanding and created a crisis of meaning where peoples attempts to find meaning become convoluted and destructive. In my view this is in large part due to a fanatical attachment to the materialistic worldview.

This fanaticism causes us to adopt this worldview and accept it as the only valid approach to understanding the universe and our own consciousness. The problem is this worldview is flawed. The scientific approach itself is nothing more than a belief system; all of its supporting constructs function only within its limited version of reality. It is a man made approach that seeks to find meaning by imagining that we can understand the universe by measuring it. Science makes an assumption or accepts a belief that material reality is all that exists and that is something it must do. If we approach something scientifically we also know that we are approaching that subject from a materialist point of view. However we have no evidence that the material world is all that exists, actually we have a great deal of evidence that there is much more to the universe than that. This evidence comes from other ways of knowing. There is nothing wrong with looking at something from a materialistic point of view until you mistake that for all of reality because then you have become trapped a rigid incomplete viewpoint. Science makes many assumptions and accepts many beliefs just like non-scientific approaches. The belief in a totally materialistic universe is one of them. The belief in objective truth is another and it’s a concept that creates serious flaws in the scientific approach. There is no such thing as an objective observer; this has been shown in studies in quantum physics and psychology as well as being known to the mystical traditions for thousands of years. The consciousness or mind of the observer influences the outcome of the experiment by virtue of the observer’s observation and bias. The objectivity that science relies on is impossible because that’s not the way human beings or the universe function. Our experience of the universe co-creates it. Science also assumes that measurement, quantification and reductionism are the ways to understanding. While this may be the case with some phenomena there is no reason to make this assumption across the board. Much of the universe and human consciousness is complex and qualitative and the very act of reducing it to fit our limited viewpoint also destroys meaning.

The materialistic paradigm has had the effect of putting blinders on our society. It’s like looking at the universe through a keyhole. I see this approach deteriorating and falling apart at this point and I think we need to retain our scientific understanding but put it in perspective and integrate it within a new more expansive paradigm where we see the materialistic approach as one of many ways to see reality all of which have their own flavor of validity. In this way we can deepen our connection to ourselves and the universe and find much of the meaning we have lost.

Interest in 2012 October 1, 2006

Posted by bodhidude in : Society, Transformation , add a comment

I have recently started looking into the idea of 2012 (the end date of the Mayan calendar) for two reasons mainly. One is that 2012 has become a symbol of transformation or transition. A symbol of an ending of old systems and ways of being that have become dysfunctional and a beginning of a new way of being and new systems of society that are more integrated and healthy.

The idea of transformation is one that I see reflected all across society and the world at this time both on an individual and a collective basis. We see old systems moving into greater and greater states of dysfunction and breakdown. Examples of this include the system of government in this country sliding into fascism and totalitarianism, the environment fast approaching a critical point of biospheric breakdown, the addiction to materialism and disconnection from the spirit reaching a point where a greater percentage of the population could reasonably be considered mentally ill, the extreme rigidity of the scientific paradigm and its inability or unwillingness to account for large portions of human experience while it provides the tools for destruction of both the planet and the human race. What I see in these and many many other such examples is a winding down or last gasp of an old grand paradigm or age preparing to give way to a new one.

On an individual level I see more and more people experiencing personal transformations on a scale I have never before witnessed, myself included. By this I mean people going through drastic life transitions where not just one part of their life is thrown into chaos or forced to change but their whole way of being and defining themselves. The kind of transformation where old habits break down and don’t work anymore and the person is almost forced to change or lose it completely. This isn’t a new thing obviously but I have never seen it on the scale I am seeing today. Its as if transformation is beginning to occur and accelerate on a planetary level and effecting all aspects of the planet from the smallest beings to the largest global institutions. The way this process of transformation affects the individual is of particular interest to me as a student of both eastern and western psychology as well as a spiritual seeker.

The other interest I have in 2012 is an interest in the Mayan approach to time and cycles as I find this fascinating. I also think tribal cultures and tribal spirituality have much to teach us going forward because they represent much of what we have become disconnected from and need to reintegrate. I’m not sold on the idea that 2012 itself is some sort of drop dead date for the end of the world, not at all but I do think its a powerful symbol of the increasing and intense period of transformation this planet is in. I seek to understand that as best as I can and put that knowledge to use to play an active role for the benefit of all beings on this planet and beyond.