An image from this day: Taken in Bali on this day in 2019 on a visit to a waterfall, the surrounding area being occupied by some residential guides who were welcoming and friendly with a little edge of humour that kept things entertaining, which is pretty much standard among the Balinese. Agung showed the way to breathe deeply and find the negative energy so that it could be released with an almighty roar (or scream) into the cleansing downpour.
Thursday 19th March
It’s a scary idea for most people. The hardest part is, they don’t even want to acknowledge the fear that prevents them from conducting truly objective reflection. Some will, of course, suggest that there is no such thing as objective reflection. We can’t be objective, they will suggest, because our very existence gives us a perspective that is limited to the experience of the individual.
If someone chooses to accept that limitation, it would be reasonable for that person to point at the words written in yesterday’s entry (words that will be repeated in various forms) about acceptance being imperative. The author who is such an advocate of acceptance must accept their own limitations. That would be a powerful point to make. The author accepts that as being the way another might decide to frame things.
Like everyone else, they freely decide how much limitation they choose to impose on their own existence. That way of perceiving the universe doesn’t resonate with this entity, hence the discourse. So far, we have looked at how humans use words to communicate and how those words are often very helpful, but also very open to interpretation, as well as being frequently intended or interpreted in a way that contribute to an increase in suffering.
We have also referenced some techniques based on the use of words to establish patterns of behaviour that are considered more desirable if we wish to build positive habits. Lots of information is widely available about these things. The thing is, the mind is the home of doubt. Therefore, it can always doubt itself. It always has more questions.
Within any religion, there are great variations between the differing translations and interpretations of texts. Even within the sub-groups created within a singular religion, there are often disagreements about the meaning of a word or passage from scripture. There are those who fight over these matters, those who choose to tolerate the opinions of others and those who genuinely value all perspectives equally. There is likely to be a fair correlation between how strict a version of their respective religion a person practices and the extremity of their behaviour when matters concerning religious belief are the focus of attention. The reasons for this assertion should be self-explanatory enough.
It is often claimed that in times gone by, religious doctrines might have been helpful in keeping order. It seems to a lot of people, many of whom would be those who consider themselves “spiritual” in some sense not sufficiently described by the religious texts with which they are familiar, that social control was in fact the motivation behind the writing of religious texts, rather than scriptures being factual or divinely irreproachable accounts. A lot of people, many of whom would probably be strict religious practitioners, would of course strongly disagree with this postulation.
That is one sense in which the staunchly religious and those who don’t believe in any single version of events seem unable to establish concurrence.
© copyright Guerrilla Nature
A track for this day: Aluna George Attracting Flies (Body Music, Island Records, 2013). High pitched flute and dreamy female vocals with witty, scathing lyrics over a bouncing, flamboyant beat. So much fun but still maintains that feeling of real quality, beautifully bridging between pop and hip-hop. Hip-pop to make your hips pop.
The full Sunny This Position playlist can be found on the Guerrilla Nature YouTube channel, which can be found at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/@GuerrillaNature
And on Spotify at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4VHLzupQ2vvR9xMfcIxyZC?si=T-SjjKOfSPiDRS31HBSeRA&utm_source=copy-link
This day’s featured creator: Samsdabblers
Above: Sunny This Position entry 2020-03-19
Below: previous and following entries or back to Prose
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