Synopsis

 Philosophy

Humans are animals.   Like all other animals, we are basically an alimentary canal, from mouth to anus.   We are just like worms.   We are conscious, walking, talking tubes.   We move things around.  Life and reality are just logistics.  We move money, ideas, and things.   We move ourselves, our bodies.   We are just bodies.  Souls don’t exist.  We are dna, a program to survive and reproduce.   We have supplementary dna in our guts, a microbiota.   Our survival is a team effort.   We are parts of communities, societies, ecological webs, families, churches, countries, corporations.  We create our own meaning.  There is no one right way to be.   You are free.   Discover what makes you happy, and just do it.    Discover what you dislike, and avoid it.   Or you can hypnotize yourself to be happy, no matter what.   Buddhists instill the values of equanimity and acceptance, extinguishing attachments and aversions, becoming one with all of reality.   Personally, I believe in vicarious experience, like books, movies, video games.   One must obey the law, and avoid the misery of prison.  And one should not be averse to the possibility of love.  Love must be periodically renewed.  People can grow closer together, or further apart.  People change.  Heaven is being in love.  The kingdom is the utopia of happy relationships.  Basic need met, peace and security, health and wealth, should be enough for any of us.  We will all die.   In fact, we are all dying.   We are all getting closer to death.   As we approach death, we must make peace with oblivion.  Nothing lasts forever.  All reality is temporary, impermanent, transitory, ephemeral, non-lasting, will decay, and be forgotten.  There was an infinity of time prior to our existence, and there will be another infinity after.   So do what you want, while alive.  The only sin is regret.  Seize the day, and live!

God?  Religion is happiness hypnosis, a bequeathed tradition of ritual and repetition, to stimulate reflection, consideration, and contemplation.  Lies can make us happy.   Family and service and charity and submission and forgiveness of sins and weekly renewal all have their value.  The bible is a worthy read.  Reality is insane, and prayer is a way of interpreting madness and schizophrenia and telepathy.  An omnipotent being who answers prayer is a hopeful and helpful belief.  Religion is also a society of friends who support one another, and teams and networks of mutual aid are evolutionarily valuable.   We are interdependent.   Everything is connected to everything else.  Our planet is a global community, spaceship earth.  Our fates are intertwined, from trade and tourism economies, to threats of warming and ecological collapse and disastrous floods and droughts, to pandemics that don’t stop at borders, either.  If one wants to make a difference and have agency in our modern world, being God is one way to interact with the world.  It’s a role, like Santa Claus.   It’s another costume on Halloween.  It’s the ultimate in self-empowerment.  It’s a concept, an identity, and even a status, if you become number one, or worshipped, or part of something bigger than yourself, like the ceo of a religious corporation.  If meaning is self-created, then becoming the ultimate arbiter of a universal theistic morality is an exercise in discipline, leadership, creativity, and service.  There will always be differences, cultures, languages, tribes, conflict, disagreement.   But making an attempt at unity is a worthy goal, even if it is a bit absurd.   The human condition is the same for all of us.  We all want the same things.  We can learn about billions from internal introspection.  Love-bliss is the global fantasy, and torture is the definition of hell.   Oblivion is release from suffering, there is no realm of eternal torment, but we should still strive for the kingdom, on earth as it is in our idealistic imagination and dreams.   God doesn’t need to hear your prayers.  He already knows.  Perfection is possible.   Look out for number one.

Reality is all the God there ever is.  You are your own reality.  You can create your own paradise.  You are powerful, and personal agency in a setting of freedom is your own magical genie’s lamp.  Be good, and be rewarded.  Be bad, and suffer the consequences.  Be guided by love; you come from love, and you’re destined toward love.  It’s both the source and the destination.  Love life, love yourself, love one another, love love, love all, love reality, love your partner, love god, love humanity, love the planet, and make love.  Gratitude and joy and laughter and fun and positivity, need to be nurtured, and suffering and discontent vanquished and extinguished, with stimulus like music and sex and drugs and books and movies and learning and teaching and virtue making your life pleasant and enjoyable and rewarding.  Remember, it’s not all about money.  It’s being happy with what you have.  You can be ambitious and motivated, and have bucket lists and goals and objectives and plans, or be proud and satisfied with what you are, what you’ve become, and who you will be.   Personally, I think all are worthy already, as you are.   But there is always room for improvement, progress, development, enrichment, service, betterment, growth, and getting closer to perfection.   There is always ignorance, and something to learn.   There is always another place to travel.  There are other roles to play.   There are books to read, and fresh books crying to be written.   There are hobbies and diversions and entertainments, for your leisure.   Go out to love and serve the lord.  Be all that you can be.  Make a difference.  Go to bed tired, and satisfied you gave it your all, that you were good and part of the solution, and not (a part of) the problem.   That is my credo.   Stay engaged, do your homework, fulfill your duty, be moral and ethical and virtuous and good, a role model and leader by example, eschew evil, be a man for others, be warm and kind, and fun and humorous, a helpful servant, whom people respect, admire, and love.