Surviving Without Money

From style.com:

"The answer lay, in part, in the Christianity of his childhood. In Suelo's nascent philosophy, following Jesus meant adopting the hard life prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount. 'Giving up possessions, living beyond credit and debt,' Suelo explains on his blog, 'freely giving and freely taking, forgiving all debts, owing nobody a thing, living and walking without guilt . . . grudge [or] judgment.' If grace was the goal, Suelo told himself, then it had to be grace in the classical sense, from the Latin gratia, meaning favor—and also, free.

"By 1999, he was living in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand—he had saved just enough money for the flight. From there, he made his way to India, where he found himself in good company among the sadhus, the revered ascetics who go penniless for their gods. Numbering as many as 5 million, the sadhus can be found wandering roads and forests across the subcontinent, seeking enlightenment in self-abnegation. 'I wanted to be a sadhu,' Suelo says. 'But what good would it do for me to be a sadhu in India? A true test of faith would be to return to one of the most materialistic, money-worshipping nations on earth and be a sadhu there. To be a vagabond in America, a bum, and make an art of it—the idea enchanted me.'"

Suelo also has a blog.

How do we know that we reason without reasoning about reason?

The text below is a comment I posted in response to Hope for the Future: Balancing Scientific Temper and Spiritual Wisdom:

Many of the scientists and mathematicians that established the foundations of our modern world also contemplated the nature of consciousness and the Absolute. This is a fact worth emphasizing to those with and without faith.

The scientific community's conscious decision to solely consider the observable, measurable and reasonable has led to significant advances, but for what purpose?

Human reasoning has limits, especially when the major premise of such reasoning is restricted to a self-conception based upon observable phenomena. But what is the nature of the observer (consciousness) apart from the observed phenomena? In other words, how do we know that we reason without reasoning about reason?

Science will have to address such questions through synthesis, as you have suggested. Thankfully, there is a developing trend entitled “contemplative science” which draws upon the introspective methods long established by monastic traditions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.

If the contemplative method of inquiry is pursued sincerely, science may finally consider an alternate premise: Absolute truth does not concede to our limited experience—it is at least as conscious as we are. Being so conscious the Divine must have will and must will to joy. If the Divine wills to joy, then all purpose must be centered upon participating. Therefore, knowledge of how to participate must necessarily descend from the Divine himself. And above all, permission to participate in the joyful play of the Divine must be granted, never assumed.

At the end of reasoning lies a humble petition to the very knowledge we seek to grasp: an appeal to be possessed by that knowledge itself.

Calvin and Hobbes: Math is a Religion

This reminds me of Gödel's incompleteness theorems:

Any effectively generated theory capable of expressing elementary arithmetic cannot be both consistent and complete. In particular, for any consistent, effectively generated formal theory that proves certain basic arithmetic truths, there is an arithmetical statement that is true, but not provable in the theory.

For any formal effectively generated theory T including basic arithmetical truths and also certain truths about formal provability, T includes a statement of its own consistency if and only if T is inconsistent.

Sri Venkateswara is coming to Cary, NC!

I've wanted to visit the temple of Sri Venkateswara for a very long time. The original temple is located in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, India, and there are several outside of India.

But now a temple is opening right down the road in Cary, NC! I'm so excited!

The South Asian magazine Saathee has an article and detailed schedule of the opening, which will last an entire week.

How you feel the world impacts how you see it

From MIT news:

"In the classic waterfall illusion, if you stare at the downward motion of a waterfall for some period of time, stationary objects -- such as rocks -- appear to drift upward. MIT neuroscientists have found that this phenomenon, called motion aftereffect, occurs not only in our visual perception but also in our tactile perception, and that these senses actually influence one another. Put another way, how you feel the world can actually change how you see it -- and vice versa."

Gnosticism vs Agnosticism vs Theism vs Atheism (image)

Now that I'm 30 years old...

I turned 30 on April 5, 2009. Here is a list of thoughts for the occasion:

• Life is a great mystery and has no significance until you give it meaning. Embrace your free will but seek wise advice.


• While you are young: travel, fall in love, make mistakes and be foolish. As you grow older you will have more to loose and be reluctant to take risks.


• Voluntarily live in poverty for a period of time. You'll never take anything for granted again.


• Recognize the the limitations of your own mind which has been habituated by culture. Strive to overcome these limitations by continually exposing yourself to new ideas and experiences.


• You will discover your strengths by continually pushing your limits. Along the way you'll also discover your weaknesses; accept them and those of others.


• Regularly contemplate death. The more you accept the temporal nature of all things, the more you'll appreciate the beauty of life in the present moment--that's really all we have.

Interesting Links and Articles

• The Philoctetes Center Multidisciplinary Study of the Imagination "was established to promote an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of creativity and the imaginative process."


• I'm not looking, honest! "[Kazuhiro Yokota, of Osaka University in Japan, and his colleagues] managed to do what had previously been thought impossible: they probed reality without disturbing it. Not disturbing it is the quantum-mechanical equivalent of not really looking. So they were able to show that the universe does indeed exist when it is not being observed." (The Economist, Mar 5th 2009)


• IBM plans 'brain-like' computers "'We are attempting a 180 degree shift in perspective: seeking an algorithm first, problems second. We are investigating core micro- and macro-circuits of the brain that can be used for a wide variety of functionalities.'" (BBC News, Friday, 21 November 2008)


• The coming evangelical collapse "We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West." (Michael Spencer, Tue Mar 10, 2009)


• The Happiness of the People "America's current leaders seem to be leading us down the path to European-style social democracy. But although it makes for pleasant lives, the European model stifles human flourishing and erodes the civic and cultural institutions and habits that make for a vibrant, sustainable, and satisfying way of life. Moreover, critics of the European model are about to get a boost from scientific discoveries in neuroscience and genetics that human nature is not malleable, which will undercut the foundations of social democracy. The answer: American exceptionalism, in which individuals freely unite to construct a civic culture. What follows is the text of Charles Murray's Irving Kristol Lecture, delivered at AEI's Annual Dinner at the Washington Hilton on March 11, 2009." (Charles Murray, March 12, 2009)


• Is That Your Final Answer? Study Suggests Method For Improving Individual Decisions "Dialectical bootstrapping is a method by which an individual mind averages its' own conflicting opinions, thus simulating the 'wisdom of the crowd.' In other words, dialectical bootstrapping enables different opinions to be created and combined in the same mind." (ScienceDaily, Mar. 14, 2009)


• The Equality Trust "believe[s] that in order to gain substantial improvements in the real quality of life of the populations of developed countries it is necessary that differences in income and wealth are greatly reduced. [...] However, differences in income and wealth will only be reduced when there is a widespread public understanding of the benefits which greater equality can bring to all of us. "


• Living Well is More Important then Organic Fruit "Please go out there and do. Live. Don’t be the same as yesterday. Don’t live vicariously online. Don’t use language that has no meaning or talk ideas you don’t really live. Don’t hide. Don’t copy others or live their ideas or life. Don’t fear doing your thing. Don’t fear doing. Instead of reading a decorating magazine, paint that room. Instead of thinking of baking, do up a cake. Run, walk, bike. Put that self help book down and pick up yourself."


• 'Eye for an eye' approach does not pay, study "Living by the motto 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' makes people less happy and successful, a study has found." (John Bingham, 25 Mar 2009)

Interesting Articles

Philosophy's Great Experiment (Prospect, March 2009) - A dynamic new school of thought is emerging that wants to kick down the walls of recent philosophy and place experimentation back at its centre. It has a name to delight an advertising executive: x-phi. [(Experimental Philosophy)]

Pakistan's Sufis Preach Faith and Ecstasy (Smithsonian magazine, December 2008) - Sufism is not a sect, like Shiism or Sunnism, but rather the mystical side of Islam—a personal, experiential approach to Allah, which contrasts with the prescriptive, doctrinal approach of fundamentalists like the Taliban.

Is time an illusion? (New Scientist, 19 January 2008) - Physicists have long struggled to understand what time really is. In fact, they are not even sure it exists at all. In their quest for deeper theories of the universe, some researchers increasingly suspect that time is not a fundamental feature of nature, but rather an artefact of our perception. One group has recently found a way to do quantum physics without invoking time, which could help pave a path to a time-free 'theory of everything.' If correct, the approach suggests that time really is an illusion, and that we may need to rethink how the universe at large works. 'It is not reality that has a time flow, it is our very approximate knowledge of reality that has a time flow. Time is the effect of our ignorance.'

Dial H for Happiness: How Neuroengineering May Change Your Brain (Wired.com, March 3, 2009) - Schneider has agreed to give me TMS. Specifically, he will use it on a part of my brain that controls movement: the motor cortex. He ushers me into an overly large black leather chair. Except for the large, two-lobed paddle hanging from the back, which is connected to an impressive power supply, the chair resembles something a therapist might use. A few inches over my ear is the part of my brain that controls my hand and arm. Schneider holds the coil there and activates it. The muscles in my scalp contract automatically, and it stings. My hand is jumping with each loud snap from the TMS machine.

13 Unsolved scientific puzzles (Times Online, February 27, 2009) - Author Michael Brooks has investigated some of the most puzzling anomalies of modern science, those intractable problems that refuse to conform to the theories. Here he counts down the 13 strangest.

Doubting Darwin: Debate Over The Mind's Evolution (All Things Considered, February 20, 2009) - [S]ome Darwin skeptics are focusing on the human brain. They say a higher power must be involved; otherwise, how could a bunch of cells produce such complicated mental processes as consciousness or subjective experiences? How could something like free will be the result of evolution?

Are Our Brains Becoming 'Googlized?" (Search Engine Land, Nov 14, 2008) - 'emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle aged and older adults,' and that 'internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function.' This is a long way of saying that being online helps keep those little gray cells busy. The level of brain activity was compared to that of reading a book. With internet usage, a significantly bigger piece of neural real estate lit up on the fMRI indicating that more parts of the brain were engaged.

Realization of Relative Reality Leads to Self-Inquiry

From the Wikipedia article on the Interpretation of quantum mechanics:

"... the world around us seems to be in a specific state, yet quantum mechanics describes it with wave functions governing the probabilities of values. In general the wave-function assigns non-zero probabilities to all possible values for a given physical quantity, such as position. How then is it that we come to see a particle at a specific position when its wave function is spread across all space? In order to describe how specific outcomes arise from the probabilities, the direct interpretation introduces the concept of measurement. According to the theory, wave functions interact with each other and evolve in time according to the laws of physics until a measurement is performed, at which time the system will take on one of the possible values with probability governed by the wave-function. Measurement can interact with the system state in somewhat peculiar ways..."

According to quantum mechanics, the very act of measuring influences the value that is measured. Replace a few words and you have: "The very act of looking influences what we see."

We see with our eyes which passes images to our brain. Our mind interprets the visual stimulus: "That painting is ugly," or "That girl is cute."

In addition, if we assume that the brain produces the mind, then the instrument itself is a part of this quantum system. Infinite recursion anyone? Anyone?

I hope this idea frustrates and confuses you. I hope you experience doubt about your own thoughts. I hope you ask yourself, repeatedly, "Who am I?" with genuine curiosity.

All scientific, philosophical and theological questions lead to this one simple question. Without pursuing its answer all else is naught.

On Perception

Every person is entitled to their opinion, perspective and world-view. Collectively, I'll call these "perceptions."

Considering that the origin of perceptions are rooted in upbringing, culture and personal experiences--with characteristics specific to the individual--how could a person not be entitled to their own perspective?

To disregard the opinion of another is to consider his or her entire life experience invalid. Our collective experiences all point to and support a particular world-view, from which we form our opinions. To question them is to question our own experiences.

If we suppose that all perceptions are valid, that there is nothing "wrong" but simply "different," where is "truth," or better stated, what is "objective reality?"

Objective reality is defined by numbers. The more people that hold a particular belief or perception, the more "real" their relative reality becomes. Indeed, the culture produced by collective perception reinforces itself. The shared perception becomes "objective" because there is no one (or few) to question it.

The world as I see it is much different than the world an African sees it. Are either of our perceptions invalid? Who will judge? Who is not influenced by their past or their environment? Who is free from the constraints of their own mental patterns?

If indeed there is no objective world "out there," then what is the "out there" that we see, hear, taste, smell, feel and contemplate about all day, every day.

There is no "out there." There is no objective reality. Who would know about it? How would they know about it?

Can you see the world in relation to anything other than yourself? In relation to anything other than your past? How would you perceive it? With your mind? A mind that has been shaped, arguably beyond our control, for decades, by a culture of consumerism, emotionally traumatic relationships and mediocre parenting?

The world you experience, having been filtered through the mind, is non-different from the mind itself. Every perception you have of the outer-world is simply an extension of your conscious or subconscious mind. Everywhere you go, there you are.

To understand yourself is to understand the world. To embrace your lack of knowledge is to embrace your fellow man in the wondrous mystery of life.

Elizabeth Gilbert: On Creative Genius

On Culture and Spiritual Community

Reverend J. Dana Trent recently asked me about my opinion of the Binkley Baptist Church's covenant. My initial response:

"I have to admit that reading the church covenant reminded me of my psychological aversion to joining groups. The self-imposed pressure of group obligations make me uncomfortable."

To which she responded:

"I know what you mean about self-imposed formal group pressure. The irony of that church covenant is that many people ... feel it's 'anti-Baptist' because Baptists are very individualistic and autonomy-oriented. I want to hear more about how you feel/perceive this."

There is a lot of value is being part of a group. Some people need external accountability and a feeling of community to be consistent in their spiritual practice. Some people are the opposite.

For example, folks who eventually become atheists may idealize the principles of Christianity, and then become disillusioned when they don't see those principles applied perfectly by practitioners.

Ideally, members of a community should emphasize individual accountability and introspection, otherwise those external pressures become artificial and competitive.

I would argue that in the past, humanity's culture emphasized the virtues mentioned above, so the spiritual communities that developed within the context of such a culture did not have to address issues that arise when those virtues are not present. It may seem like a "dumbing down" of spiritual principles, but I think those virtues need to be address by spiritual communities. "How?" is a big question, and should be voluntarily determined by members according to their collective psychological predispositions. The "how" should be flexible, even readily disregarded if it's effectiveness eventually becomes questionable.

I looked in my Gita (18.42-43) to find a few nice virtues: tranquility, self-control, austerity, forgiveness, honesty, faith, determination, and generosity.

Interesting articles

• Exploring Consciousness through the Study of Bees (Scientific American, January, 2009) "... there is no accepted theory of consciousness, no principled theory that would tell us which systems, organic or artificial, are conscious and why."


• How Google Is Making Us Smarter (Discover, January 15, 2009) "the mind appears to be adapted for reaching out from our heads and making the world, including our machines, an extension of itself."


• Is Technology Producing A Decline In Critical Thinking And Analysis? (ScienceDaily January 29, 2009) "'As students spend more time with visual media and less time with print, evaluation methods that include visual media will give a better picture of what they actually know...'"


• DVD teaches autistic kids what a smile means (Associated Press, January 15, 2009) "About a decade ago, Baron-Cohen suggested that autism — which is much less likely to afflict girls — might be an extreme version of the typical male brain. Men tend to understand the world via patterns and structure, whereas women are more inclined to understand emotions and sympathize with others."


• Mind Out Of Balance, Body Out Of Balance (ScienceDaily, January 27, 2009) "Many ... adults who suffer from anxiety disorders also have problems with balance. As increasing numbers of children are diagnosed with anxiety, Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered that the link between balance and anxiety can be assessed at an early age and that something can be done about it before it becomes a problem."


• Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy (The New York Times January 26, 2009) "Science is not a monument of received Truth but something that people do to look for truth. That endeavor, which has transformed the world in the last few centuries, does indeed teach values. Those values, among others, are honesty, doubt, respect for evidence, openness, accountability and tolerance and indeed hunger for opposing points of view. [...] The habit of questioning that you learn in physics is invaluable in the rest of society."

On Happiness

In this attempt to describe happiness and it's origins, I will first recognize the emotion as a completely subjective experience. "Objective" observers might witness or measure external indications of happiness, but those indications may be intentionally misleading, or unintentionally misinterpreted. Happiness, in full, can only be perceived through subjective experience, because in principle, it is an emotion or "state of mind," and no one has direct awareness of your mind except you.

I concede that external standards of happiness, when measured over time with statistical significance, may reveal trends and provide useful guidelines for a happy life. However, guidelines have a tendency to become dogmatic when followed outside context and culture.

If you are the only one who truly knows whether or not you are happy, then your own happiness is ultimately your responsibility. How do you know if you're happy?

Knowing your own happiness may seem simple, but our current culture of consumerism muddies the process. Rather than recognizing instances of unhappiness, Western culture encourages us to ignore it by consuming, i.e. watching TV, surfing online, having sex, eating junk food or even shopping.

The Western solution to unhappiness could be compared to hiding from a potential attacker. Running and out of breath, you manage to find an open door to slip behind, and the attacker is unable to find you. You breath a sigh of relief and experience a degree of happiness. But you still have to come back from behind the door. You still have to face the potential threat of being attacked by someone else, and they might find out your hiding spot! The experience really wasn't happiness, it was the temporary cessation of unhappiness. Big difference.

Philokalia - Love of the Beautiful

This weekend I spent several hours browsing the Edward McKay used bookstore. I picked up a book that I couldn't put back down, The Philokalia:

Philokalia is defined as the 'love of the beautiful, the exalted, the excellent, understood as the transcendent source of life and the revelation of Truth.' The original authors were mostly monks, whose striving for purification of the heart and spiritual perfection are recurring themes in the Philokalia.

As much aversion as I have for Christian dogma, this book speaks the non-sectarian language of divine love. When exploring the essence of existence and the nature of our relationship with the divine, a certain pattern emerges across all traditions--that of pure, selfless devotion to our personal ishta devata.

Buddhism and Science, Quantum Mechanics and the Mind

A couple of interesting articles I found recently:

Buddhists welcome science into monasteries:

"... a project called Science for Monks, backed by a Boston-based charity called the Sagar Family Foundation, western scientists also have given scientific workshops for exiled Tibetan Buddhist monks in northern India. The new collaboration aims to spread the appreciation of scientific inquiry yet further by creating a core of scientifically inspired 'learning leaders', explains Exploratorium artist-educator Karen Wilkinson.

"'These monks are the most extraordinary students,' says Mark St John, who runs a science education consultancy in Inverness, California, and will accompany the Exploratorium team to Sarnath. 'They are total in their attention, often child-like in their enthusiasm, and are very used to working together.'"

Is Quantum Mechanics Controlling Your Thoughts?

"... photosynthesis appears to derive its ferocious efficiency not from the familiar physical laws that govern the visible world but from the seemingly exotic rules of quantum mechanics, the physics of the subatomic world. Somehow, in every green plant or photosynthetic bacterium, the two disparate realms of physics not only meet but mesh harmoniously. Welcome to the strange new world of quantum biology.

"Electrons moving through a leaf or a green sulfur bacterial bloom are effectively performing a quantum 'random walk'—a sort of primitive quantum computation—to seek out the optimum transmission route for the solar energy they carry. 'We have shown that this quantum random-walk stuff really exists,' Fleming says. 'Have we absolutely demonstrated that it improves the efficiency? Not yet. But that’s our conjecture. And a lot of people agree with it.'

The article cites more research that links quantum mechanics to our sense of smell, the effect of green tea and consciousness itself.

Existentialists make lousy boardgames

From the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal web comic:

The Conspiracy of the Monkey Mind

I'm working on a blog entry about happiness, but Paul Jones tweeted this article and I wanted to post it: The Conspiracy of the Monkey Mind.

For the devotees of the cult of rationalist materialism, this conspiracy of duality was most profoundly manifest in the concept of the 'objective observer.' With fanatic devotion to the dualistic principle that the observer is separate from the observed, they forcibly separated the concepts of human from nature, mind from matter, and science from spirit. Though this approach resulted in technoscience’s phenomenal capacity to rigorously manipulate the physical world, its accompanying worldview justified the dismissal or ignorance of uncomfortable or inexplicable causal connections that did not fit neatly into its proscribed framework.