2003-02-07 - 9:52 p.m.

my friend z sent me a long and rambling email about his belief system. here is my reply. i welcome your comments

there is no such thing as reason. "rational thought" is an elaborate, often mathematical, shell game produced by a fear of the truth. and what is the truth? the truth is itself unknowable, a zeno's paradox. this life is an illusion, a whispered dream half-remembered. choose a path of anger, defeat, love, sorrow, duty, violence, mercy, oblivion, each has the potential to lead to the truth. there are no absolutes, except the absolute of no absolutes. there is no heaven except this one: the choice is yours.

the machines we use to assist us in our lives are scaring the crap out of us. fearing obsolescence, many embrace a crude and lazy luddism. comfort and convenience pave the road to unfulfilled stagnation. the law of nature says, 'everything must change, because all that lives changes. to resist change is to die, and therefore in dying be changed'. empty pleasures will be our downfall. relax but don't stop learning. play but don't stop observing yourself. the desire to know oneself can counteract much of the bullshit commercial society feeds us; which is a steady diet of racism, sexism, conformity, and class warfare.

compassion is the only salvation. love and be loved. become as intimate as possible with as many people as is practical. everything else everyone tells you is a lie. means-test all assumptions based on how much love they express for all living things. does the police state express love? if not, dismantle it. do your religious practices separate you from those with different practices? if so, abandon them. arm yourself only with love. a life lived without love is hardly worth the breath.

does it sound too soft? too hippy free love outta sight? don't worry: the path of love is the most difficult, the most fraught with peril. only the most highly evolved beings will be able to set foot upon the path.

fear and anger are natural. even lizards can feel fear and anger. but what animal can choose to be vulnerable? life is a precious gift. each moment is for us to seek pleasure in, to move closer to bliss, to open ourselves just a little bit more. every moment spent in fear or anger or hatred serves to reverse that process. change others by changing yourself. improve your environment by improving your self. when you find fear and prejudice in your own actions, seek to unravel that fear from its source. love yourself enough to gently resolve any hesitation, frustration, or aggravation in your actions towards other people. fear is a prison and love is the key.

don't look outside of your experience for god. god is wherever your gaze rests. god is your cat, your girlfriend, your apartment, your computer, your bathtub, yourself. you are a part of god, you are the sum total of god. also, god is a part of you, whether you like it or not. be humbled and realise that the roaches under your sink have more faith and trust in the universe than you do. be exalted to know that god resides in your every action. be relaxed and know that god is. and that god is love. god cannot be separated from love. some will quibble with the terminology, but the word 'god' is the best expression for the thing described: the undeniable connectedness of all things that live.

aside from love, the second most powerful force in the universe is patience. patience moves mountains. patience is also another way of saying 'faith' or 'trust'. when you have faith in something, you are patient, not anxious. you believe. you know. the anxious person has no faith. he is always striving for control, he doesn't believe that things will turn out okay. he cannot trust. patience always trumps anxiety and control every time. all who are patient will eventually be satisfied.

there is no need to obey what anyone else says is right. do what you think is right, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. every great human society in history is founded on these basic principles. if you have doubts about a course of action, ask people you love for their insight, or spend some time quietly alone and try to listen to your own thoughts. you have ultimate control over your own environment. if people persecute you for what you know to be right, don't worry. they hold no power over you. you are your own person.

furthermore, don't believe anything written here. the truth is not out there, its with you. you know what you believe. stay open, and allow yourself to feel love. its the only thing you were designed to do.