Forgiver In The Rough Posted in: Aggressor-Victim

Notwithstanding the pain / horror of the experience, existence of a victim for me is a major philosophical problem.

My song Forgiver In The Rough lays bare my struggle with this.

My problem begins with my conviction that not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God. The all powerful and benevolent God

If this is true then the idea that the victim is purely a random recipient of adversity, with no cause beyond their being at the wrong place at the wrong time, is obviously unacceptable.

The Fallacy of Perceived Truth Posted in: Belief and Truth, God On Our Side

We find it relatively easy to dismiss as false or deluded the truths of others … especially when they don’t tally with our own. We might consider them ridiculous, unbelievable, inconceivable, implausible, or even insane. No more thought required.

But what if the same processes apply to us that make such ‘wrong’ truths acceptable, or even absolute, to others? In other words, our finding something believable – real – true, no matter how implausible to another, is arrived at in fundamentally the same way as theirs is. …

You Can’t Say No To God Posted in: Aggressor-Victim

You can’t say no to God. At least not if you subscribe to the traditional notion of God. You cannot say that God can’t have something God wants. After all, what sort of God would God be if some things are out of bounds? Forbidden. Where would be the divinity in that?

But what about us? What if our not being God does not mean we have lost our divinity? …

Freedom From Jugdement Of Others Posted in: Freedom From Judgement

Many would agree that to achieve freedom from judgement of others is a worthy goal. My song Preacher is about the struggle a person-of-faith likely faces in this endeavor. But regardless one is a person-of-faith or not, I believe the path to freedom from judgement of others has a similar set of obstacles.

At the heart of the challenge always lies conviction there exist ‘truth-absolutes’ of good/bad, higher/lower, worthy/unworthy, should/shouldn’t … in terms of individual attitude and action. …

Conditioned Soul – a good thing? Posted in: Divine Expression, God On Our Side

When something is conditioned that means it is made ready for something … conditioning is the process of making ready. Generally that is a good thing.

Perhaps a conditioned soul is therefore simply a soul prepared for their chosen objective. Let us consider this possibility without judgement. After all, if the soul is divine (of God, one and different), and choice of objective is divine prerogative … i.e. …

Weighted Words Posted in: Divine Expression, God On Our Side

Ignorance and ignorant are weighted words for me. To be ignorant, or to be absorbed in ignorance, … neither are things to be proud of :(. For me the weightedness of these words has gradually grown over my lifetime. Due, at least in part, to my being born in 20th century England, and growing up within Christian-esque culture.

Yet it seems to me our whole existence is permeated with ignorance. …

Disposition Matrix Posted in: Divine Expression

A made-up term yes, but actually one intended to explore a fairly serious philosophical proposition. My song of the same name, and associated online form, being two previous explorations.

It really comes down to the question of cause and effect.

My proposal is that this present life (e.g. our place of birth, parents, type of body, disposition of mind, events in our life story, etc. …

The Self-Divinity Challenge Posted in: Aggressor-Victim, The Self Divine

A note of caution: It is fine to say of oneself ‘I am not a victim’, but to say of another, that is another thing altogether. I know if someone had suggested I was not a victim during a difficult earlier chapter of my life I would not have appreciated … nor could I have imagined a time when I might see things differently *. …

I’m The Victim – An Interesting Mindset Posted in: Aggressor-Victim

… a very interesting mindset for one who is control of everything. Yes, it facilitates the both the forgiveness and revenge adventures for sure … but are those adventures really attractive enough to explain the widespread permeation of victim/blame culture on this planet at this time? …

Active Ingredient Posted in: Divine Expression

I propose that the self (personally I prefer the word soul) is the active ingredient in all situations. Self knowledge is not required for optimal functioning, … degree of self awareness only flavours our experience … our experience of, our tasting through, and the associated enjoyments of the mind and bodily senses (both favourable and unfavourable).

There exists a potentially confusing situation for the self, … we find ourselves simultaneously integrated with our body, our mind, and our bodily senses, yet at the same time we feel our self to be somehow separate from all of these. …