Yesterday, my day was made through an intelligent conversation. You don't get that much anymore. Unfortunately, most of the conversation washed up on the shores of Zimbabwe (or something along those lines) and thus I cannot repost all of it. But the bit I do have I shall post. I really enjoyed the chance to get to know H----- in more depth. I've called her a friend for some time now, and I can officially now say we've talked about something seriously... At FaceBook. Yes, intelligent conversation can be held over at FaceBookland. Surprising, isn't it? I would strongly suggest you read this. I found myself discovering new things about myself. <span id="test27936719">. . .</span><br/><div id="post27936719" style="display:none; margin-right:75px;">
Unfortunately, the first half of our conversation dissintegrated, so here it comes from about halfway through.
Username Cannot be Found: I don't. I feel it makes me see like too much of a head-in-the-clouds kind of person.
H-----: Really, I think the world needs the head-in-the-clouds types to counter the immense amounts of realists and pessimists.
U: I consider myself in the vast neutral between optimist and realist. I tend to dream too much, and when I hear of something, my mind creates a grand picture of everything. Life is a bit upsetting, because I'll read a poem, persay, about a feather falling, and I'll have it all in my mind's eye. Then, I'll drop a feather and be disappointed that it isn't quite as graceful or airy as I had imagined.
H: Life can be devastating like that. Instead of looking at how life should be like art, I think about how art should be like life. I find humanity beautiful.
U: I try to impose that mindset upon myself, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it... Perhaps my head is what's in the way?
H: It could be. I don't know. I think the reason I'm able to do it is because I have an immense love for humanity. Bottomless love for humans, no matter how messed up they all are.
U: I actually, at times, find myself spiting humanity. In a sense, I love it, but the achievements of humans seem to be merely a facade. You see, I believe that the reason the world is the way it is, is because humans have imposed upon ourselves an idea that we are the primary species. After all, I believe in Jesus and sin being the cause of all sickness, badness, etc... And what caused sin, persay, if you were to be of my releigion and personal views (I have no idea whatsoever of your belief system)? Man thinking he was better than God. Thus, I believe that man, in imposing upon itself a greatness, is forshadowing his own downfall. However, I marvel at what man can accomplish in the arts. I do not agree with scientific discoveries fully, as I will explain momentarily... -one moment.-
If you don't mind, may I post this conversation thus far on the internet? It has made my day that I can finally have an intelligent conversation.
H: Of course you may. And I look forward to the rest of your explanation.
U: I shall post it later. Anyhow, I believe that man's quest for explanation is to an extent a great thing. I also think that, however rightous man's intents are, people are beginning to break down life so that all it is, is numbers. This greatly bothers me as a transcendentalist and romantic. I prefer to view life through its beauty rather than explaining everything. I also believe, more increasingly as time passes, man is trying to impose upon others his own ideas and beliefs no matter the beliefs of others. Out of curiousity, because this discussion seems to be leading itself to this, of what religious and/or belief persausion are you? I hope not offend by that question.
H: That's a question I've been trying to answer myself all my life. I believe in an essential duality, and that there is a God. I don't subscribe to a particular system of beliefs because none of them fit me. If you want to get really technical, you could say I lean toward Universalist Unitarian.
U: I have my own set of beliefs. I attend a Pentecostal Christian church, but I do not entirely believe in every teaching of Pentecostalism, if that is the word. Currently, I consider myself on non-denomonational Christian. I do not believe that a loving God would judge based on many of the things most Christians think are wrong, i. e., homosexuality.
H: Aha. It's refreshing to see that. I have had so many friends blindly accept that God is vengeful and unforgiving it's alarming to me.
U: I find myself questioning the existance of Hell all the time, among other typically-considered true Biblical theories.
H: Really, the concept of Hell is strange to me. Why should humans suffer in the afterlife for simple human transgressions? I would understand why someone who has no remorse for their crimes would have to suffer, but then again, what are they learning? Not only that, is there an afterlife, are we reincarnated, do we just die?
U: Being myself, I believe that the energy humans have is reincarnated-- you see, energy doesn't just go away, it is a neverending cycle-- but I also believe that souls do go one way or the other. I believe that there is a Hell, though it is not an eternal place of punishment. I currently am toying with the idea that we are sent there to overcome our sins, but sin is only human.
It is our nature.
H: See - that is why I can love humanity. I love humanity through its flaws. We as a race are imperfect, prone to delusions of grandeur, prone to selfishness and cruelty. What amazes me is that all of this is just human mental construct. If we didn't have the idea of good and evil in our collective unconscious, would we have morality? And why is there morality, where did it come from? That is what gives me my belief in God.
U: My belief in God sprouts from that as well as the belief that minds as complex as that of a human must have been created, they could not have been from evolution... However, I do have a twinge of thought that believes it is a mixture of evolution and divine creation, that God has over time decided to give ourselves more and more. However, I'm not entirely sure if these evolutions are completely for the good or the bad. Speak of the devil... well, there that was a literal meaning. Do you believe in the idea of a devil?
H: I believe in the idea of an essential light and dark. I don't think I believe in a devil though. I tend to lean more toward "humans create this duality, and the only devil is evil and sins we commit".
U: My belief is something along those ligns. i believe that there are /devils/, rather than a devil, and that, rather than being the opposite of God, they are the opposite of angels. I believe angels represent the good that we do and devils are our sins.
H: That makes sense. Why did we choose the physical manifestations of our archetypes though - God as a wise old bearded dude, angels as glittery winge'd things, devils as red and horned?
U: Because that is the way they have been depicted throughout the centuries. You see, I believe that, for man, it is hard to believe that when it says God created us in his likeness that it means, he created us to have the intelligence to know right from wrong. According to the beliefs of many, he chose us to be like him in appearance. The angels are mentioned as perfectly beautiful, and their ability to fly is mentioned in the Bible. At one point, the thought of flying was absurd for one without wings, creating that idea. As to the devil, they most likely wasnted to make him threatening and hideous to the naked eye, and that was the one way people could think to do so.
H: their ability to fly is mentioned in the Bible. At one point, the thought of flying was absurd for one without wings, creating that idea. As to the devil, they most likely wasnted to make him threatening and hideous to the naked eye, and that was the one way people could think to do so.
U: Yes, I agree so much with those statements. And how do you feel on the subject of different races, i. e. African-American, caucasian, etc... how do you think they came about?
Honestly, this idea puzzles me.
H: Even evolution doesn't really give a good reason for this one. My guess would have to be that as man grew and traveled the earth, he adapted. Part biblical, part Darwinist.
U: That is the closest to an explanation I can muster up, as well.
H: Just a thought - if an Irishman were in sunny equatorial Africa, he would be so sunburned he would die.
U: Most likely.
IT IS MIDNIGHT!
Those two words went /extactly/ at midnight. Amazing.
H: Yes they did, woot. Happy morning/tenth of June.
U: xP
Honestly, I do not believe they could've gone through /exactly/ at midnight. Complete preciseness is impossible.
But, nontheless, very close.
H: What with humanity, and time just being another human construct. Why do we call the seasons what they are, and why is a day one cycle of light and dark? Time makes me crazy. The whole idea of time. We got by just fine without it for a while.
U: Yes, I do not agree with the human calander currently. The Christian calander is much faultier than the Roman, or the Aztec (if I'm stating the right MesoAmerican tribe). Which brings me to the question: what do you make of the 2012-apocalpse-theory?
H: I really don't know how I feel about it. There are supposed to be a lot of huge, potentially cataclysmic events lining up then.
But that brings us right back to science and divination. Human intuition, or science.
U: Ш фь ыщккнб ьн сщьзгеук рфы пщту штещ кгыышфт ьщвую
I'm sorry... Computer glitch...
I do not believe in it whatsoever. After all, there's the whole leap-year thing because a day is actually 23 hours and 57 minutes or something like that, and leap-years don't frighten me. Just because a calander is ending, doesn't mean the world is, too... I don't scared every December 31st.
H: Like every conspiracy theorist did when the new millenium began.
U: xP
H: And everybody said we'd die then too.
U: Quite.
H: Shocking, we're all still here. -_-
U: And wasn't there a '100 REASONS WHY THE WORLD WILL END IN 1995' book? Or something along those lines?
H: I don't know. Really, I'll have to look that up. You have to admit, a lot of the end of the world hype has to be started by religious fanatics and corporations. Crazy as it seems, doomsayers could cause a huge rush on the market for basic staple goods. Like they did for Y2K. Bought toilet paper and canned food out of stock, in some places.
U: I agree. I need to leave for tonight. Rather than pressing the 'x' button, minimize this conversation so that we can resume at the same point tomorrow.
H: I will! Night dear. ^u^
</div>Unfortunately, the first half of our conversation dissintegrated, so here it comes from about halfway through.
Username Cannot be Found: I don't. I feel it makes me see like too much of a head-in-the-clouds kind of person.
H-----: Really, I think the world needs the head-in-the-clouds types to counter the immense amounts of realists and pessimists.
U: I consider myself in the vast neutral between optimist and realist. I tend to dream too much, and when I hear of something, my mind creates a grand picture of everything. Life is a bit upsetting, because I'll read a poem, persay, about a feather falling, and I'll have it all in my mind's eye. Then, I'll drop a feather and be disappointed that it isn't quite as graceful or airy as I had imagined.
H: Life can be devastating like that. Instead of looking at how life should be like art, I think about how art should be like life. I find humanity beautiful.
U: I try to impose that mindset upon myself, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it... Perhaps my head is what's in the way?
H: It could be. I don't know. I think the reason I'm able to do it is because I have an immense love for humanity. Bottomless love for humans, no matter how messed up they all are.
U: I actually, at times, find myself spiting humanity. In a sense, I love it, but the achievements of humans seem to be merely a facade. You see, I believe that the reason the world is the way it is, is because humans have imposed upon ourselves an idea that we are the primary species. After all, I believe in Jesus and sin being the cause of all sickness, badness, etc... And what caused sin, persay, if you were to be of my releigion and personal views (I have no idea whatsoever of your belief system)? Man thinking he was better than God. Thus, I believe that man, in imposing upon itself a greatness, is forshadowing his own downfall. However, I marvel at what man can accomplish in the arts. I do not agree with scientific discoveries fully, as I will explain momentarily... -one moment.-
If you don't mind, may I post this conversation thus far on the internet? It has made my day that I can finally have an intelligent conversation.
H: Of course you may. And I look forward to the rest of your explanation.
U: I shall post it later. Anyhow, I believe that man's quest for explanation is to an extent a great thing. I also think that, however rightous man's intents are, people are beginning to break down life so that all it is, is numbers. This greatly bothers me as a transcendentalist and romantic. I prefer to view life through its beauty rather than explaining everything. I also believe, more increasingly as time passes, man is trying to impose upon others his own ideas and beliefs no matter the beliefs of others. Out of curiousity, because this discussion seems to be leading itself to this, of what religious and/or belief persausion are you? I hope not offend by that question.
H: That's a question I've been trying to answer myself all my life. I believe in an essential duality, and that there is a God. I don't subscribe to a particular system of beliefs because none of them fit me. If you want to get really technical, you could say I lean toward Universalist Unitarian.
U: I have my own set of beliefs. I attend a Pentecostal Christian church, but I do not entirely believe in every teaching of Pentecostalism, if that is the word. Currently, I consider myself on non-denomonational Christian. I do not believe that a loving God would judge based on many of the things most Christians think are wrong, i. e., homosexuality.
H: Aha. It's refreshing to see that. I have had so many friends blindly accept that God is vengeful and unforgiving it's alarming to me.
U: I find myself questioning the existance of Hell all the time, among other typically-considered true Biblical theories.
H: Really, the concept of Hell is strange to me. Why should humans suffer in the afterlife for simple human transgressions? I would understand why someone who has no remorse for their crimes would have to suffer, but then again, what are they learning? Not only that, is there an afterlife, are we reincarnated, do we just die?
U: Being myself, I believe that the energy humans have is reincarnated-- you see, energy doesn't just go away, it is a neverending cycle-- but I also believe that souls do go one way or the other. I believe that there is a Hell, though it is not an eternal place of punishment. I currently am toying with the idea that we are sent there to overcome our sins, but sin is only human.
It is our nature.
H: See - that is why I can love humanity. I love humanity through its flaws. We as a race are imperfect, prone to delusions of grandeur, prone to selfishness and cruelty. What amazes me is that all of this is just human mental construct. If we didn't have the idea of good and evil in our collective unconscious, would we have morality? And why is there morality, where did it come from? That is what gives me my belief in God.
U: My belief in God sprouts from that as well as the belief that minds as complex as that of a human must have been created, they could not have been from evolution... However, I do have a twinge of thought that believes it is a mixture of evolution and divine creation, that God has over time decided to give ourselves more and more. However, I'm not entirely sure if these evolutions are completely for the good or the bad. Speak of the devil... well, there that was a literal meaning. Do you believe in the idea of a devil?
H: I believe in the idea of an essential light and dark. I don't think I believe in a devil though. I tend to lean more toward "humans create this duality, and the only devil is evil and sins we commit".
U: My belief is something along those ligns. i believe that there are /devils/, rather than a devil, and that, rather than being the opposite of God, they are the opposite of angels. I believe angels represent the good that we do and devils are our sins.
H: That makes sense. Why did we choose the physical manifestations of our archetypes though - God as a wise old bearded dude, angels as glittery winge'd things, devils as red and horned?
U: Because that is the way they have been depicted throughout the centuries. You see, I believe that, for man, it is hard to believe that when it says God created us in his likeness that it means, he created us to have the intelligence to know right from wrong. According to the beliefs of many, he chose us to be like him in appearance. The angels are mentioned as perfectly beautiful, and their ability to fly is mentioned in the Bible. At one point, the thought of flying was absurd for one without wings, creating that idea. As to the devil, they most likely wasnted to make him threatening and hideous to the naked eye, and that was the one way people could think to do so.
H: their ability to fly is mentioned in the Bible. At one point, the thought of flying was absurd for one without wings, creating that idea. As to the devil, they most likely wasnted to make him threatening and hideous to the naked eye, and that was the one way people could think to do so.
U: Yes, I agree so much with those statements. And how do you feel on the subject of different races, i. e. African-American, caucasian, etc... how do you think they came about?
Honestly, this idea puzzles me.
H: Even evolution doesn't really give a good reason for this one. My guess would have to be that as man grew and traveled the earth, he adapted. Part biblical, part Darwinist.
U: That is the closest to an explanation I can muster up, as well.
H: Just a thought - if an Irishman were in sunny equatorial Africa, he would be so sunburned he would die.
U: Most likely.
IT IS MIDNIGHT!
Those two words went /extactly/ at midnight. Amazing.
H: Yes they did, woot. Happy morning/tenth of June.
U: xP
Honestly, I do not believe they could've gone through /exactly/ at midnight. Complete preciseness is impossible.
But, nontheless, very close.
H: What with humanity, and time just being another human construct. Why do we call the seasons what they are, and why is a day one cycle of light and dark? Time makes me crazy. The whole idea of time. We got by just fine without it for a while.
U: Yes, I do not agree with the human calander currently. The Christian calander is much faultier than the Roman, or the Aztec (if I'm stating the right MesoAmerican tribe). Which brings me to the question: what do you make of the 2012-apocalpse-theory?
H: I really don't know how I feel about it. There are supposed to be a lot of huge, potentially cataclysmic events lining up then.
But that brings us right back to science and divination. Human intuition, or science.
U: Ш фь ыщккнб ьн сщьзгеук рфы пщту штещ кгыышфт ьщвую
I'm sorry... Computer glitch...
I do not believe in it whatsoever. After all, there's the whole leap-year thing because a day is actually 23 hours and 57 minutes or something like that, and leap-years don't frighten me. Just because a calander is ending, doesn't mean the world is, too... I don't scared every December 31st.
H: Like every conspiracy theorist did when the new millenium began.
U: xP
H: And everybody said we'd die then too.
U: Quite.
H: Shocking, we're all still here. -_-
U: And wasn't there a '100 REASONS WHY THE WORLD WILL END IN 1995' book? Or something along those lines?
H: I don't know. Really, I'll have to look that up. You have to admit, a lot of the end of the world hype has to be started by religious fanatics and corporations. Crazy as it seems, doomsayers could cause a huge rush on the market for basic staple goods. Like they did for Y2K. Bought toilet paper and canned food out of stock, in some places.
U: I agree. I need to leave for tonight. Rather than pressing the 'x' button, minimize this conversation so that we can resume at the same point tomorrow.
H: I will! Night dear. ^u^
