Theology

the study of the

but it's not pronounced thuh-ology: it's pronounced thee-ology.

thee?
wikipedia says:
the oblique/objective form of thou is thee (functioning as both accusative and dative)

it's just another way of saying YOU
Of course, right?

So the study of God is the study of You.
Theology, then, if you get creative, is just another form of Psychology.

hola

Hi y'all

I have nothing I intend to say, I just thought I'd address the world on my blog, and say "hi".    My current status is I've got a new cell phone with unlimited minutes and text so I'm having fun with my new toy; I've got three library books out (the petty demon by sologub, good omens by terry pratchett, and an oxford spanish-english dictionary); I've got 2 new roommates, Rocio and Josh; I bought (and ate) an entire chocolate silk pie yesterday and today (claim jumper brand, from safeway); I broke my watch, which is a bummer; I didn't read the ny times today because the library mysteriously didn't receive it (!); I want to get serious about my health and exercise at the Y daily, both cardio and weights, as well as disciplining myself to not sleep in (etb, etr mamhww, lol), and continue with my gnc protein powder, and maybe run or swim, to boot, too;  I've got lots of beans and rice and canned food to eat, I haven't used my recently purchased (from a thrift store) slow cooker, so I'll figure that out; I have a camera on my phone and a digital camera I never use, too, which I want to figure out and use to update my okcupid account, I should get serious about meeting someone to break out of the somewhat solitary rut I'm in; I want to learn to speedread, I like to be informed, for the daily news 17: economist, foreign affairs, new york times, wall street journal, usa today, christian science monitor, huffington post, washington post, cnn, bbc, wikipedia, yahoo, the onion, berkeleyside, people, national geographic, and of course, mad magazine; I want to read a book a day and have stopped my project to read the 1001 books from the list I photocopied from the 'must read before you die' book, but want to continue; I'm also walking Marcel on wednesdays and Fido and Taco on Thursdays; I listen to philosophy talk on sunday mornings; I sometimes meditate with shambhala on wednesday evenings, it's been awhile, I should do it more; I plan on getting my hair cut this W by Sara after the weekly Kaiser morning group;  and last, but not least, I'll plant trees in Oakland on Saturday morning at 9am with the meetup group sponsored by the Sierra club, which I tried to do yesterday but got turned around trying to find the meeting place... Oh, and my cousin Erin is having her 30th birthday in SF this week, on Friday night. 

That's all, folks! Happy holidays (xmas, hannukah, kwanza, is that everything?)
-Jesse
as kurt vonnegut jr., I think it was, said, "busy, busy"
and
as anthony robbins said, "if you're bored, you're boring"

7 types of queer

derived from 3 criteria:

3 ways to gay:
1)I.D.
self-identify as gay

2)Behavior
engage in homosexual behavior

3)Real
are sexually attracted to members of the same sex
that is to say,
have same-sex attraction

from which derives the 7 types:
1)I.D. w/o B, R
2)I.D. w/o B, NR
3)I.D. w/ B, R
4)I.D. w/ B, NR
5)N i.d. w/o B, R
(N i.d. w/o B, NR is heterosexual)
6)N i.d. w/ B, R
7)N i.d. w/ B, NR

since 3 types are without homosexual behavior, you might simplify to 4 types (3,4,6,7).
of those 4, only two are Real (3,6)
there's a difference between self-identified, and in or out of the closet.
there's also asexuals and bisexuals (and trysexuals, ha)
i think of asexual as not having a sex-drive, or sexual impulse
which is different, in my book, from not engaging in sexual behavior
pitchers, catchers, and "versatile"
vaginal, oral, anal, handjobs;
auto-erotic (masturbation: is there, if so, what's the fantasy?)
and there's a distinction between the past, present, and future:
preferences in behaviors, people change/evolve.
and there's a difference, of course, between voluntary behavior, and being raped.
and attraction isn't necessarily sexual attraction.

how many types of sexuality are there?
do the math yourself, lol

What am I, now?
hetero, w/o B, R
formerly bi-curious
trying to be in love with life, happy, tolerant, free.

Season's Greetings!

What I want for Christmas!

It's said that it's harder to buy for people, as they get older, so here's my list:

Money

I could stop at that, really, but here are some things I want (to spend it on):
(maybe from REI, I have a membership):
tent, binoculars, frame backpack, and shoes: running, hiking, tennis. 

-calendars:
both a page-a-day (I liked this year's word origin calendar),
and pocket calendar (such as my godfather gives out), or wall calendar

-a Trader Joe's gift certificate
-online paysites: match.com, lumosity, joe frank
-community classes: speed reading, aikido
-a vacuum (carpet) (the local tool library doesn't have/loan them, argh)

I usually get a book or two for x-mas, but I've got access to:
-5 public libraries in berkeley (central, north, south, claremont, and soon to be west)
-the GTU (graduate theological union) library on holy hill (in bkly)
-Cal's libraries, too (you can get access, even if you're not a student there, if you get approval for a research topic)
-I occasionally go to an Oakland library, too.
That really IS enough to keep me busy.
the only book I want that's not in the system (including link+, I checked) is Adi Da's 8 volume 'Aletheon'.  it's 180  bucks, though.  The GTU really should have it, in my opinion.  Maybe they would help pay for it, if I offered to donate it to their library...  Actually, Cal might have it.  I need to check, first.

If anyone's feeling especially generous (I should put it out there, right?)
travel (like a cruise, or a trip to spain or france)
a car (a tesla would do nicely)
an apartment with a kitchen
a house, wife, kid(s)
lol

Honestly, I've got pretty much everything I want, I'm content, so thanks in advance for whatever.
Cheers!
-J

Self-Satire

The Onion wrote about me, sort-of

LINK

I don't believe in an Almighty.
But I do believe you can rule over your own world, and bring yourself happiness.
That's why you are God (and me, too)

I don't believe in a Supreme Lord and Ruler of All Creation.   Nobody created everything.  Maybe, however, the universe came into existence (the big bang) after a "big crunch," in which a conscious being or beings played a part.  But, like I said, you are Supreme in your own domain.  You can relinquish that control, and submit, which I would say is what keeps muslim imams (as well as catholic priests) in power.  And, I would add, there is no divine overseer.  No santa claus who sees who's naughty or nice.  Which is a pretty typical conception of what a deity can do.  Impossible, unless God is re-defined as your conscience, a part of your own personal internal psyche. 

I don't believe "nothing happens unless I will it."  In fact, I'm leaning toward determinism.  Which is to say, a billiard ball universe, in which animals -and people- are also just things.  But maybe I'm wrong.  You're God, You decide!

"I am a flawless and infallible being who controls everything that is and will ever be. I see all. I know all. I judge all."   Well maybe, lol.  Okay, j/k.   I only see what my eyes show me, and what my mind sees, in dreams.  That's all any of us sees, right?  It's possible I know nothing.  cogito, ergo sum is a bedrock principle, but I suppose it's possible that it's not me that's doing the thinking.  I do a fair bit of judging, as this blog makes clear, and I don't subscribe to the oft-expressed "it's all good", but I recognize this is all personal opinion and preferences, not a Universal Theistic Morality.  And I make mistakes.  Nobody's perfect.  Even Jesus, in my opinion.

I guess you might say I'm an atheist, at least according to the tropes of this onion article.  Nobody's in control, I say.   But we each have -enough- control over our own lives to be the Gods of our own private universes.  Call me insane, but I think that's a sane outlook.

I've read the bible, and it says God is love, and love believes all things...but there are mutually exclusive beliefs -can I believe in God and be God myself, too?  The concept of God, I would say, is elastic enough to allow both, defined differently.

Wisdom

personal reflections on the topic of today's Philosophy Talk

a list of wise thoughts:
1)kwuteo: i.e. knowledge, wisdom, understanding, truth, enlightenment, and omniscience
a wise person knows the distinctions!

2)the more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
ignorance is bliss, with knowledge comes suffering?

3) bible, secret, mormons, scouts:
the bible has a book of wisdom, although some might say the entire thing has wisdom, and I would add The Secret as a second book of wisdom, just as Mormons might lay claim to it on mormon.org, or boy scouts teach the scout law: Be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. 

4)Happiness: discover what makes you happy, and what makes you unhappy, then cultivate and eliminate.  that's from the Dalai Lama.

5)Jail or Prison might definitely be seen as a stepping stone on the path of wisdom, as a)be good, and b)don't be bad!

6)adi da said "Reality is all the god there ever is."  And since you are your only reality, you should think about the premise of this blog, which is You are God.   And if only god is good, then you Should be God, too.  Although there's that quote, by a japanese buddhist, which I think is wise, that says, "it is the fundamental delusion of humanity to think that you are in here and I am out there" (or something to that effect) - which might be restated as Kurt Cobain's adage, all in all is all we are.  We interpenetrate.  Our minds meld.  I believe in godco (communities of prayer and shared wisdom), voices, and telepathy, too.  Humans are one family on spaceship earth, we should learn to get along.

7) small, fleeting, and only animals:
impermanence, death, oblivion: all we are is dust in the wind.  We are infinitesimal in an infinite universe.  You and me baby ain't nuthin' but mammals...

8)and, of course, the purpose of our lives, encoded in our dna, honed by evolution- Survival and Reproduction.  Live long and prosper!  Be fruitful and multiply!  42!

hope that helps!