The Improbability of God The Improbability of God by Richard Dawkins from Free Inquiry, Volume 18, Number 3. Much of what people do is done in the name of God. Irishmen blow each other up in his name. Arabs blow themselves up in his name. Imams and ayatollahs oppress women in his name. Why do people believe in God? So ran Paley's argument, and it is an argument that nearly all thoughtful and sensitive people discover for themselves at some stage in their childhood. What do all objects that look as if they must have had a designer have in common? This is not a circular argument, by the way. Of all the trillions of different ways of putting together the atoms of a telescope, only a minority would actually work in some useful way. We can safely conclude that living bodies are billions of times too complicated -- too statistically improbable -- to have come into being by sheer chance. The fossils tell us that life has been evolving on Earth for more than 3,000 million years. Return to Top
Eastern philosophy - Wikipedia Set of philosophies originating in Asia Eastern philosophy or Asian philosophy includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philosophy; all of these are dominant in East Asia and Vietnam,[1] and Indian philosophy (including Hindu philosophy, Jain philosophy, Buddhist philosophy), which are dominant in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, and Mongolia.[2][3] Indian philosophy[edit] Indian philosophy refers to ancient philosophical traditions (Sanskrit: dárśana; 'world views', 'teachings')[4] of the Indian subcontinent. Later developments include the development of Tantra and Iranian-Islamic influences. Orthodox schools[edit] Each school of Hindu philosophy has extensive epistemological literature called Pramana-sastras.[44][45] In Hindu history, the distinction of the six orthodox schools was current in the Gupta period "golden age" of Hinduism. Sāmkhya and Yoga[edit] Nyāya[edit]
Theta Wave Brain Synchronization This is a replication of a Theta wave entrainment rhythm first created by scientists in the 1960s to lull patients into a deep, colorful, creative dream state. Listen to it for 10 minutes, longer if you can. The longer it plays, the deeper you’ll go. So go. How It Works The human brain produces different levels of electrical activity depending on the amount of information it is processing. Throughout the day, the brain lingers between four different types of brainwave patterns: Beta (12 -30 Hz): the normal, awake consciousness associated with busy tasksAlpha (8 – 12 Hz): the relaxed and reflective state, like those induced by closing the eyes during waking hoursTheta (4 – 7 Hz): a very relaxed state associated with meditation and some sleep statesDelta (3 and under Hz): deep, dreamless sleep Theta waves (at around 4 to 7 Hz) are the sweet spot for many brain functions.
EnergyFanatics.com - The Answers to Everything Lie Within the Substance of Energy Daily Wisdom If you tell yourself that you are happy, miserable or bored, you have already separated yourself from that particular sensation that is there inside you. U.G. Krishnamurti About Katinka Hesselink - All Considering Who am I? That’s the question. It’s a basically spiritual question as well: and any answer I give is limited by the concepts introduced by the words in the answers. That said – I’m a daughter. I’ve studied world religion at Leiden University for several years, specializing in India, Buddhism and the psychology, sociology and anthropology of religion. I got my start studying religion and spirituality as a member of the Theosophical Society in 1994. I write online for a living. You can contact me at: mail@katinkahesselink.net Here’s some of the places I’m active online. The picture of Katinka Hesselink on the right was made by Chris van der Blonk in 2011.
Evolution is a Fact and a Theory Copyright © 1993-2002 [Last Update: January 22, 1993] hen non-biologists talk about biological evolution they often confuse two different aspects of the definition. On the one hand there is the question of whether or not modern organisms have evolved from older ancestral organisms or whether modern species are continuing to change over time. In the American vernacular, "theory" often means "imperfect fact"--part of a hierarchy of confidence running downhill from fact to theory to hypothesis to guess. Gould is stating the prevailing view of the scientific community. Let me try to make crystal clear what is established beyond reasonable doubt, and what needs further study, about evolution. Also: This concept is also explained in introductory biology books that are used in colleges and universities (and in some of the better high schools). Today, nearly all biologists acknowledge that evolution is a fact. There are readers of these newsgroups who reject evolution for religious reasons.
Wisdom Commons: Exploring, Elevating and Celebrating Our Shared Moral Core Some Moral Dilemmas The Trolley Problem, not in Grassian. Suggested by Philippa Foot (1920-2010), daughter of Esther, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland, but of British birth because of her father, William Sidney Bence Bosanquet. A trolley is running out of control down a track. This is a classic "right vs. good" dilemma. The Costly Underwater Tunnel Compare: 112 men were killed during the construction of Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border (the "official" number was 98, but others had died from causes more difficult to identify -- or easier to ignore -- like by carbon monoxide poisoning): The first to die was a surveyor, J.G. with a return to a completely unfamiliar Earth, against what seems to be genuine love for Preston, with a life in what actually are rather comfortable circumstances in the spaceship.
Blind men and an elephant Blind Men Appraising an Elephant by Ohara Donshu, Edo Period (early 19th century), Brooklyn Museum The story of the blind men and an elephant originated in the Indian subcontinent from where it has widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men (or men in the dark) who touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each one feels a different part, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. It is a parable that has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Buddhist, Sufi, Hindu and Bahá’í lore. The story[edit] In various versions of the tale, a group of blind men (or men in the dark) touch an elephant to learn what it is. The stories differ primarily in how the elephant's body parts are described, how violent the conflict becomes and how (or if) the conflict among the men and their perspectives is resolved. The blind men and the elephant (wall relief in Northeast Thailand) Jain[edit] A king explains to them: All of you are right. Buddhist[edit] Sufi Muslim[edit]
Maslow Self Actualization - unlearn. "Self Actualization is the intrinsic growth of what is already in the organism, or more accurately, of what the organism is." Abraham Maslow Maslow studied healthy people, most psychologists study sick people. The characteristics listed here are the results of 20 years of study of people who had the "full use and exploitation of talents, capacities, potentialities, etc.." Self-actualization implies the attainment of the basic needs of physiological, safety/security, love/belongingness, and self-esteem. Maslow's Basic Principles: The normal personality is characterized by unity, integration, consistency, and coherence. Realistic Realistically oriented, SA persons have a more efficient perception of reality, they have comfortable relations with it. Acceptance Accept themselves, others and the natural world the way they are. Spontaneity, Simplicity, Naturalness Spontaneous in their inner life, thoughts and impulses, they are unhampered by convention. Problem Centering Peak experiences Creativity
elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality.