Article Contributed on: 1/10/2008 11:57:40 AM
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason or common sense" - Buddha
This happens to be one of my favorite quotes, because it tells you to truly evaluate everything that comes into your personal experience.
That being said, I want to present an idea through this blog, an idea of balance. The reason I started out with this quote is because you should trust yourself and know if what I say is right for you. I am not here to tell you what to think, but simply to present an idea.
The world has become in some ways ruled by rationality. While skepticism is a healthy mindset, it can also be crippling if one becomes too skeptical. Sometimes slowing the mind down and simply experiencing a moment can be a very healthy activity. If we are constantly rationalizing and constantly evaluating then there is never time to "stop and smell the roses".
I would like to present an idea. This idea is that the rational mind is here to be helpful, but so is the intuitive mind. Each has its own place. Everyone knows what makes a good detective is a man who can not only follow clues and rationalize what happened, but also a man who follows his gut, or his instincts.
We are raised in this society to be focused on the Rational mind. Our education system is bent on it, our scholars thrive on it, and we are told in science that every theory has to have proof. On one hand this is great, on the other it is not so great.
As the opening quote states you must think for yourself, you must believe and think how you feel is right. Science is a wonderful thing and has brought us many things to be grateful for, but like the rational mind it has it's time and place. Not everything can be explained by science and much of science has the essence of belief in it. For example astronomy assumes that the laws of physics apply throughout the entire universe. It must assume this otherwise they would not be able to progress in the body of scientific knowledge.
So to make progress we must believe that the laws of physics apply to the entire universe. Personally this is difficult for me, because how could we possibly make such a sweeping generalization? Is it not possible that the laws of physics in the way we think of them only apply to our localized part of the galaxy? Is it possible that perhaps outside of our solar system things might be different?
It is not that I feel that science is bad. Science like many systems are searching for truth. I feel however that our culture tends to go one way or the other. Either everything is rational, or everything is faith. What I am promoting here is that we have a blend or a balance between both.
We should neither be mindless zealots nor should we need proof for everything. It seems to me that walking in the middle of these two ideals is the way to go. Of coarse there are many things that science can't prove or disprove, but science does also have wonderful systems that do work and that make sense.
Let's take evolution for example. My own beliefs aside, there are clearly two extremes on the subject. One is that the world was made six to seven thousand years ago exactly how the bible said it was. The other is that a random occurrence caused a big bang to happen billions of years ago. Why does it have to be one way or the other? Why can't both things be partially true? Can't we simply view the world for what it is now?
Truly it is impossible for us to know for a fact the nature of our origins at this time. It may be something that is in fact unknowable. Why should we struggle so hard to know the nature of our origins when we have so many other problems that confront us in the present moment.
Mind you, there is nothing wrong with thinking about where we come from or why are we here, but why do we let the message consume us so much that in some cases we reach a point of madness? Should we not be enjoying our experience for better or worse?
This is why I feel it is important for us to develop our intuition and put it on an equal level with rationality. If everyone lets their mind rule them eventually it will drive them crazy. If everyone let their intuition rule them, then many things may be unfinished. By themselves neither can function fully, but when rationality and intuition meet (for me at least) there is a sense of peace and balance brought into your life.
Why? Because sometimes you just can't explain how you know something, or that you have met someone before. (Many of us have had the experience of thinking of someone and then they call) Sometimes you must use your logic to solve life's many puzzles. If each is working in the place it is suppose to be then there is nothing missing. Both the masculine and the feminine are working in exactly the role they need to work.
Going back to the creation issue, with all of the evidence for the earth being as old as it is, is it really healthy to think that the world is only six to seven thousand years old? Or is it really healthy to believe that our conscious experience is the result of the random nature of the universe? When thinking about this I always remember a law of science. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
Of coarse this question leads us down a very deep rabbit hole and I won't get into that in this particular blog, but lets just say that everything about us is energy even our consciousness, and I ask you if energy can neither be created nor destroyed can their really be a beginning or an end?
Who has the right and who has the wrong answer is not as important as simply keeping an open mind to all possibilities. Throughout our history we have shown that with human beings just about anything is possible, and as time moves on even more things may become possible. This is why I say never close your mind to any theories all the way, simply keep an open mind and take the Buddha's advice.