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I guess some of these philosophies/religions (buddhism, taoism, confucianism) overlap and share truths like a Venn diagram, but Taoism is the one that makes the most sense to me at this stage in my life. It emcompasses the incomprehensible mystery of the universe in a way humans can finally understand (or not understand, right? you get the point).
3d ago
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i've been wrestling with this idea for a little while
let me know if you have any insight
i'm fascinated by the idea of true belief. i want it, i admire it, i respect it. i also think it is scary and it can cause so much damage.
lately i've been thinking how everything we see we process through our own perception, so all of reality is subjective. we can interact with nothing as it is, but only as we are. if you think about synchronicity too, all meaning projected onto the world becomes valid and true. everything exists only to confirm what you're experiencing. if you believe the phase of the moon being the same at two points in time holds meaning, it does because it's just another part of your mental map.
but when it comes to religion and politics it can be so destructive. i wasn't raised with religion but i have always felt myself drawn towards it. i am at the same time very critical of it, especially how the human aspect of organized religion tends to be used for control, but i truly admire true belief. but seeing the results of it, like the persecution of trans people in american politics, is scary and sends me back to the critical mindset. but there's still some appeal i can't shake.
what if there were a geocentrist today? someone who worked a normal job, went about an ordinary life, they just happened to believe the earth was at the center of the universe. that's kind of a beautiful thing. if you only draw conclusions from your own experience, of course the earth is at the center. everything seems to orbit around it. and there's still a purity in believing only in what you have found for yourself. the world would live only in their mind, and each world created by each person is all the more precious for being unique and reflective of its individual.
i'm just rambling at this point, but what do you guys think? true belief: yes or no?
Mar 12, 2025
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Ah…. Trungpa Trungpa. I don’t follow any gurus, nor am I satisfied with any religion in particular, but for many years, I’ve been walking the tightrope between Catholic mysticism and Buddhism. I’m somewhat attracted to Chogyam Trungpa because he’s intentionally bad and everyone in religious circles is always trying so hard to be seem good. He’s a bit of a charlatan but some of his ideas resonate with me, particularly for art making. He coined the term Crazy Wisdom which refers to unconventional, outrageous behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits. He was a womanizer who drank, took drugs, and often acted inappropriately to test everyone else around him. He also mocked his western followers’ superficiality by making fun of the sari-wearing hippies that attended his lectures, to which he showed up dressing like a conservative british man (a bit of a Gilbert and George move) instead of the expected traditional Tibetan costume. The play on identities appeals to me. But that being said, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate his contrarianism without Ram Dass by his side providing me with comfort and soft spoken guidance. Great good cop/bad cop combination.
Oct 25, 2022
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sorry guys i know i've posted about the same thing like four times now but it helps me work out my ideas to see them up on here
been thinking about postmodern writing and all the "critical theory" bucket of literature, how so much of it reads so cold despite having interesting ideas
it's the same thing i resent about performance theory, too detached, too intellectual with nothing underneath, i don't like things that seem like they were written only for the classroom
but then you get someone like clarice lispector (and krasznahorkai sometimes) that just knocks you over
they still use the heady language for the most part but it doesn't come off pretentious or disconnected, truly it could be said no simpler way
i think the main thing is some kind of underlying spirituality or belief in truth, whatever that might mean
maybe just sincerity
Mar 20, 2025
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although unfortunately early, one of the best ways to combat old age and bad temper.
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