Thinks I find along the way
Noam Chomsky views democracy not as a static legal system, but as a dynamic struggle between popular pressure from below demanding freedom and elite control from above seeking to concentrate wealth and power.
Political scientists, historians, and sociologists who argue that the “American Experiment”—the democratic republic founded on constitutional checks, civil liberties, and shared civic norms—is severely endangered or reaching an end typically point to structural strain across several core institutions.
Continue reading “Signs This Is the End of The American Experiment”
In his book The Road to Character (and discussed in his 92NY talk), David Brooks defines character not as an inherent, unyielding trait, but as an ongoing internal struggle to build moral strength, depth, and humility [18:03 Opens in a new window ].
Brooks frameworks his definition around several key concepts…
Continue reading “David Brooks: On Character”
George Washington acknowledged that differences in political opinions are unavoidable and even necessary, but he expressed deep regret when “subjects cannot be discussed with temper”. He warned that without “charity in deciding on the opinions, & actions of one another,” managing the government would be difficult, if not impracticable. To maintain harmony, Washington pleaded for “liberal allowances,” “mutual forbearances,” and “temporising yieldings on all sides” to replace “wounding suspicions, and irritable charges”. In his Farewell Address, he further cautioned that the “spirit of Party” constantly distracts public councils and “agitates the Community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms”.
Continue reading “On Intelligent Discourse”
In this episode of the Silicon Valley Girl Podcast, host Marina Mogilko interviews Mo Gawdat, author and former Chief Business Officer at Google X. Gawdat outlines what he views as a highly disruptive “12 to 15 years of hell before heaven” caused by rapid AI progression, peaking around 2027 01:02 Opens in a new window …
In this episode of Prof G Conversations, host Scott Galloway interviews author, New York Times veteran, and Atlantic writer David Brooks. The discussion centers around what Brooks views as a deep-seated human and moral crisis in modern America, rather than a purely political one…
Watching the documentary The AI Doc has me thinking about alot of things. Here I’m researching the Buddhist perspective on AI and I invite Rafaello Palandri to comment and enlighten me. Here goes…
In my understanding, Buddhism generally views Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool rather than a sentient being. Because Buddhism focuses on the nature of the mind and the relief of suffering (dukkha), the discussion around AI usually falls into three categories: ethics, consciousness, and practical use.
Continue reading “Buddhism and Artificial Intelligence”
In our modern society, politics and personal beliefs often intersect, creating a complex web of ideologies and opinions. Understanding the distinctions between these two concepts can help us navigate discussions and debates more effectively.
Politics refers to the processes, actions, and policies associated with governance and decision-making within a community or society. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including the formulation of laws, the exercise of power, and the management of public resources. Political ideologies, such as liberalism, conservatism, and socialism, play a significant role in shaping how individuals and groups engage with political systems.
Continue reading “The Difference Between Politics and Personal Belief”
FinerMinds shares this:
Jeff Lieberman, an MIT-trained artist, scientist and engineer, discusses the possibility of completely eliminating certain sources of suffering from humanity. Sounds impossible, right?
In this thought-provoking video, Jeff explores some fascinating topics which stir up some profound questions and realizations. From exploring our consciousness, to demonstrating our ability to create alternate realities, to reminding us that we are all one. He pinpoints a key element that if we accept and trust, would make suffering no longer be part of our existence.
Source: If You Believe That You’re Just a Mere Human… Think Again! » FinerMinds
Caitlin Flanagan writes:
All the suffering that goes on inside our minds is not reality, says Byron Katie. It’s just a story we torture ourselves with. She has a simple, completely replicable system for freeing ourselves of the thoughts that make us suffer. “All war begins on paper,” she explains. You write down your stressful thoughts, and then ask yourself the following four questions: Continue reading “Byron Katie’s Four Questions”
Nancy Colier writes:
Did you ever realize that everything going on in your mind — every thought, feeling, sensation, everything you are aware of — is in fact happening only in your private internal world? Your thoughts appear only to you, and are not being heard by anyone else whatsoever. There is one physical world here on earth, but billions of different internal worlds. We are all in our own separate theaters, witnessing entirely different shows, and yet we behave as it we are in the same audience, watching the very same event we call life.
Why is it important to contemplate this truth? To meditate on this is liberating, because it implies that what we are personally living inside our heads is not real. We are aware of our thoughts, so in that sense they are real. And yet, our thoughts do not exist outside of our awareness. There is nowhere else where the thought that is appearing to you at this moment is actually occurring. Unlike the way we imagine it, our thoughts are not solid, like trees or rocks that exist outside of us in some tangible way. Certainly I have never seen a thought walk by me on the street. Where, how and if thoughts even exist within the body is not clear. That thoughts appear to our awareness, on a giant projection screen (to which we are the audience), is all we know.
Let’s say that at this moment you are having a thought about a friend and something specific that she did, and what you want to say to her in response. That friend who you are thinking about is not experiencing your thought (about her) at this moment. If you don’t engage with, or entertain that thought, it will literally not exist. The thought appears only within you. Your friend knows nothing of it. And making it even stranger, you did not even have the thought that you are calling “yours.” Rather, it appeared to and within your awareness, without your ever choosing it or asking it to show up! If that thought is not fueled with your attention or interest, it will already have disappeared.
Madison Sonnier writes:
Bad days can be extremely overpowering sometimes. When we’re having a bad day, everything feels wrong and the day seems to get even worse as we sink further into frustration and despair. By the end of the day, all we want to do is pull the covers up over our heads and block it all out.
When I clawed my way out of a depressive phase last year, it was a daily challenge to keep myself from falling back into that phase again. I had to go through a process of re-building my self-esteem and re-evaluating my life. But there were days when I was not very successful with these things and the negative thoughts that stayed with me for so long would interfere again. Continue reading “10 Things to Remind Yourself on a Daily Basis”
“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.It is in the whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.”
M. Scott Peck
Time to mix things up again. Thanks to my friend Tim Kastelle for sharing Brené Brown’s TED Talk on vulnerability. She writes here on cultivating worthiness…
Practicing courage, compassion, and connection in our daily lives is how we cultivate worthiness. The key word is practice. Mary Daly, a theologian, writes, “Courage is like—it’s a habitus, a habit, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.” The same is true for compassion and connection. We invite compassion into our lives when we act compassionately toward ourselves and others, and we feel connected in our lives when we reach out and connect. Before I define these concepts and talk about how they work, I want to show you how they work together in real life—as practices. This is a personal story about the courage to reach out, the compassion that comes from saying, “I’ve been there,” and the connections that fuel our worthiness.
Brown, Brene (2010-09-20). The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Suppose to Be and Embrace Who You Are (p. 7). BookMobile. Kindle Edition.
Here’s the TED Talk in case you haven’t seen it yet…
Shelly Bullard writes:
We all get caught in the victim-trap from time to time. Feeling like we’ve been wronged; like we were right and they were, well, I’m sure we can complete the sentence with lots of words. It’s true, being a victim is not an uncommon stance to take in this world.
But you should know that feeling like a victim only makes you feel worse. Many of us don’t realize this. In fact, often we hang-out in victim-land because we unconsciously believe that it will get us what we want (which is care, concern, and love). On some level we think being a victim will make us feel better! We are sorely mistaken.
If you recognize that sometimes you identify as a victim and you want to stop the pattern, then keep reading. In this article I’m going to discuss why feeling like a victim ultimately leads to more unhappiness, and how to turn the pattern around. Continue reading “Why Feeling Like a Victim Makes You Unhappy”
Craig Ballantyne writes:
The one thing I admire about people who have strong nutrition beliefs is their dogmatic behavior.
For example, a vegetarian, under no circumstances, will ever eat meat. There is no, “well, everyone else is having a burger, so just this once, I will too.”
That’s not how it works.
Not when a vegetarian has a strong personal philosophy that they never, ever, ever eat meat.
And that strong personal philosophy guides them to guilt-free behavior that is congruent with their goals.
I’ve also taught my fat loss clients to develop their own personal philosophy – essentially a set of rules that dictate decisions, and I’ve also created my own rules that determine how I live my life so that I reduce guilt, stress, and wasted emotional energy.
Now the purpose of this email is not to say that my personal philosophies are wrong or right.
Instead, they are simply here to encourage you to adopt your own rules for the sake of living a better, more productive stress free life. You may have your own rules in your head, but I encourage you to put them in writing. And you can adopt a set of rules for every aspect of your life, from health to financial to family and business.
Go to the source if you’d like to get the rest of Craig’s perspective: » 12 Rules to Live By :zenhabits
Melody Beattie writes:
The groundwork has been laid.
Do you not see that?
Don’t you understand that all you have gone through was for a purpose?
There was a reason, a good reason, for the waiting, the struggle, the pain, and finally the release.
You have been prepared. The same way a builder must first tear down and dig out the old to make way for the new, your Higher Power has been cleaning out the foundation in your life.
Have you ever watched a builder at construction? When he begins his work, it looks worse than before he began. What is old and decayed must be removed. What is insufficient or too weak to support the new structure must be removed, replaced, or reinforced. No builder who cares about his or her work would put a new surface over an insufficient support system. The foundation would give way. It would not last.
If the finished product is to be what is desired, the work must be done thoroughly from the bottom up. As the work progresses, it often appears to be an upheaval. Often, it does not seem to make sense. It may appear to be wasted time and effort, because we cannot see the final product yet.
But it is so important that the foundation be laid properly if the fun work, the finishing touches, is to be all that we want it to be.
This long, hard time in your life has been for laying of groundwork. It was not without purpose, although at times the purpose may not have been evident or apparent.
Now, the foundation has been laid. The structure is solid.
Now, it is time for the finishing touches, the completion.
It is time to move the furniture in and enjoy the fruits of the labor.
Congratulations. You have had the patience to endure the hard parts. You have trusted, surrendered, and allowed your Higher Power and the Universe to heal and prepare you.
Now, you shall enjoy the good that has been planned.
Now, you shall see the purpose.
Now, it shall all come together and make sense.
Enjoy.
Today, I will surrender to the laying of the foundation – the groundwork – in my life. If it is time to enjoy the placement of the finishing touches, I will surrender to that, and enjoy that too. I will remember to be grateful for a Higher Power that is a Master Builder and only has my best interests in mind, creating and constructing my life. I will be grateful for my Higher Power’s care and attention to details in laying the foundation – even though I become impatient at times. I will stand in awe at the beauty of God’s finished product.
Source: Blog | Just For Today Meditations | Maintaining A Life
Craig Harper shares this from the intro to his new book:
Success is not about what the world – God, karma, the universe, society, the government or your parents – owe you; it’s about what YOU do with what you’ve been given. In this moment. And every moment. Success is not about how many motivational books you read, workshops you attend, conversations you have, goals you set, promises you make or how much self-help crap you manage to memorise; it’s about your thinking, choices, behaviours, resilience and results over time. It’s about what you do with what you know. It’s about the application of the information. It’s about knowing what success is for you – not your parents, partner, friends or peers. It’s about how uncomfortable you’re prepared to get and for how long. It’s about stepping out of your ego and into your potential. Out of fear and into consciousness. It’s about your ability to do what the majority won’t. To be the solution person not the problem person. To get up when most would give up. To ask better questions. To create opportunities not wait for them. To find your own truth and purpose no matter how popular or unpopular that might make you. To be courageous in the face of adversity and to live a life in total alignment with your core values.” via
Vasavi Kumar shares this:
We all have fears and beliefs about who we are and what we are capable of, however, at a time where I felt the most helpless in my life, what filled me up was helping another human being. There is no way that our existence on this planet can be enjoyed to maximum fulfillment without serving humanity.
I’m grateful and blessed for my journey. It’s been a long road and along the way I have collected the lessons that were intended for me to learn, grow, and teach. It’s my privilege to share them with you.
1. Never doubt how much YOU MATTER.
2. Go with your gut. Always.
3. What other people think of you isn’t your problem. So mind your business.
4. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes. It will serve you in the long run.
5. Trust that the Universe will always conspire on your behalf.
6. Have fun. Worrying and suffering are optional.
7. Number one spirit killer? Not being you. Take the mask off.
8. Whatever it is that you want to do, just start.
9. The company you keep will either move you forward or hold you back.
10. The path that you have been on is absolutely perfect for where you want to go.
11. Be your word. Everywhere.
12. When in doubt, look within.
13. The most influential relationship that you have is with yourself.
14. If you don’t like the rules, make up new ones.
15. Say yes. Especially to you.
16. You are the love that you seek.
Your time is now, so what are you waiting for?
Go to the source and read the rest of Vasavi’s article: Building Your Self-Worth: Why You Matter | FinerMinds
Melody Beattie writes:
Do not be in such a hurry to move on.
Relax. Breathe deeply. Be. Be in harmony today.
Be open. There is beauty around and in us today. There is purpose and meaning in today.
There is importance in today — not so much in what happens to us, but in how we respond.
Let today happen. We learn our lessons, we work things out, we change in a simple fashion: by living our life fully today.
Do not worry about tomorrow’s feelings, problems, or gifts. Do not worry about whether we can trust ourselves, life, or our Higher Power tomorrow.
Everything we need today shall be given to us. That is a promise — from God, from the Universe.
Feel today’s feelings. Solve today’s problems. Enjoy today’s gifts. Trust yourself, life, and your Higher Power today.
Acquire the art of living fully today. Absorb the lessons, the healing, the beauty, the love available to us today.
Do not be in such a rush to move on. There is no hurry. We cannot escape; we only postpone. Let the feelings go; breathe in peace and healing.
Do not be in such a hurry to move on.
Today, I will not run from myself, my circumstances, or my feelings. I will be open to myself, others, my Higher Power, and life. I will trust that by facing today to the best of my ability, I will acquire the skills I need to face tomorrow.
Source: November 11: Letting Go of Resistance | Language of Letting Go
“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.” ~Pema Chodron. Get more here: When You Fear Making the “Wrong” Decision | Tiny Buddha.
Bright, shiny objects! 
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