An Eerie Sadness

The popular networking sites are, IMO, good for mostly 2 things, and not much else: 1) Staying connected with family and friends, and 2) reconnecting with people from your past using the various search features.

Regarding 2, I've reconnected with people who I haven't seen since 1st grade. But today, I must report that it's not always a joy to find them. To recap, I had a friend with whom I attended high school, "Ted", who had a sister, "Deb", who also attended, but was a grade beneath us. While she and I weren't close friends, we were acquainted enough that we'd say "hi" in passing, which thrilled me, because, to say this young woman was stunning would be to seriously understate it.

Well, the other day I got a hankering to look her up. I first sought out her brother, and while the only matching name wasn't him, it did turn out that it was his son by the same name..i.e.. "Ted [.......] III".  So, I'm browsing his photos in the hopes of seeing a pic of his father, "Ted", or his father's sister, "Deb", and I notice a photo of a grave plate with flowers on it. Before clicking it, my heart sank. My intuition in those precise seconds told me it was "Deb", and I was right. I clicked the photo, and what expanded before my eyes was a grave plate with her given name, middle name, and married name. The year of birth, "1963", confirmed it, and I could no longer refuse to believe it despite trying.

After minimal effort exploring the net, it turns out that she was a fire-fighter and paramedic here in the same town where we attended the same high school. She left behind two sons, a brother, and mother and father. The cause of death was breast cancer, which, according to sources, she had defeated the first two times, but her third bout with it was one she could not overcome. It....i.e.. that despicable disease called "cancer", defeated her. There is an eerie sadness remembering her, being young, alive and well, traversing the school halls, and yet, now, gone. A life cut short at 48 years old.

There is No Matter!

Sadly, these are the types of refrains that we hear so frequently from the New Age and Metaphysical gurus of today, as well as from those who buy into their philosophies. Dr. Wayne Dyer, one such guru, asserts things like...

"There is no matter, as such"

and....

"All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds the most minute solar system together"

and...

"We must assume behind this force the existence of conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter."

Okay. Really? Really!?!? There is no matter? And what else?... we must assume that whatever "force" is responsible for all matter(which he just said didn't exist), it has a cosmic enforcer that is "intelligent"? 

Do you know what this is? It is a bunch of unfounded "spiritual" hocus-pocus with some "scientific" jargon sprinkled in. Lacing "woo"-based philosophies with scientific terms..e.g..."quantum", "energy", etc., doesn't make those philosophies credible or scientifically plausible.

Let's start from the top: 

We should believe that "matter doesn't exist" because said matter presumably comes from an invisible, disembodied *"Mind".

*upper case "M", because we know that what they really mean is "God" as a personal being, the being they used as a model when they project themselves onto the Universe.

What's being argued here, is that, since the "force" behind all matter is immaterial(nonphysical), then whatever emerges from this force is also immaterial(nonphysical), or at best, it is some sort of illusion. For practical purposes(AKA useful purposes), can we assume that you're really reading this right now? Assuming "yes", then for practical and useful purposes, matter exists. Yes, regardless of how/where/when matter emerged, matter exists. Now, if someone wants to be impractical and live as though matter is just an illusion? Fantastic; great! They are free to do so. But he or she cannot live impractically, 24/7. If they disagree, idk...then I guess they should try going without the material compound known as "H2o" for a week.

And particles of an atom vibrate, do they? Cool....and very interesting. But what should we conclude from that? I'm certainly no physicist, but the little research I've done tells me that there are two kinds of vibrations: 1) forced, and 2) free. Even if particles in atoms are examples of forced vibration(e.g..the plucking of a bass string), why must we conclude that what has caused the vibration has a "mind" and is "intelligent"? Entire galaxies are "vibrating" in such a way that they colliding into one another as I type this sentence. Now, are colliding galaxies an example or sign of "intelligence"?

Moreover, if the universe, in all its vast complexity, requires a "Mind" to exist, then surely that "Mind" is more complex than that which it brought into existence, which then begs the question, where did this "Mind" come from? If said "Mind" is self-existing and doesn't require a creator, then how/why are we so god-damned certain that vibrating particles haven't always existed and therefore require a creator? 

Here's another quote along the lines of the previous ones, straight from this whole "New Age" movement....

   "Its(sic) Consciousness…And there is an ocean of pure vibrant consciousness in every each one of us."

The evidence that is available to us via science and modern medicine tells us that "consciousness" requires a physical brain. The above quote, while colorful and poetic, seems to be suggesting that consciousness is something that exists independently of a physical brain - or more in line with what they are proposing - some non-thing that exists independently of a physical brain.

 Just because something is made up of vibrating particles doesn't mean it has "consciousness". Consciousness, while not a "thing", but a process, is still a process of a material, bodily organ..i.e..the brain. Similarly, "digestion" isn't a "thing", either, but also a process. But surely none of these New Age gurus would minister, "There's an ocean of pure, vibrant digestion in each and every one of us!". No, that would be ridiculous.

More...

"Oscillating a wine glass by playing sound at its resonance frequency, will cause it to move, change and liquefy its structure and eventually even break it."

Cool, and interesting. But again, what does it say or prove when it comes to the bodily process of being "conscious"? What does it say or prove when it comes to an afterlife or everything being interconnected?

and.... 

"Everything around us owns its existence to sound. Sound it’s a factor that holds all together. In the beginning there was a sound of a Great Cosmic Designer…"

Yes, we waited for it, and lo and behold, there it was..i.e..the "Great Cosmic Designer", which is an attempt to get "God" in under the radar---or at a minimum, it's the New Ager's attempt to divorce their conception of "God" from that of religion and all its baggage. And BTW,  anyone....... to what does this "Great Cosmic Designer" owe its own existence? What is more likely/more plausible, a) the idea that the most complex, most intelligent "Mind" has always existed and just decided to "create" everything at one point in time(before time existed?), or b) the idea that particles, gases, and atoms have always existed?

 To chose "a" is to employ special pleading. If complexity requires a cause, then the New Ager's "Great Cosmic Designer" argument caves in on itself. If we're going to learn science, then we first need to know the difference between how real scientists think, and how pseudo-scientists think.

Okay, then, Smarty-Pants Atheist....

•  if there's no God and no afterlife, what happens to us when we die? 

I don't know with 100% certainty what happens; no one does. Notwithstanding, all of the available evidence points to the theory that we simply lose consciousness and never regain it. Ironically, we won't know that we have died or that we have ever lived. For reference, it would be akin to the time before we were born. No one was sad or inconvenienced for the trillions and trillions of years before they were born, so, there you go.

• if there's no God, then where did we come from?

I can only speak for myself---but I entered this world via a birth canal from a womb. Now, if you mean, where did the human race come from, we evolved from lower life forms via Evolution by Natural Selection over millions of years.

• so, you're just accident, are you?

I don't claim to know every family's personal details, but speaking for only myself, I'm fairly certain that my biological mother didn't trip one day and fall on top of my biological father, who just happened to have an erection at that precise moment. No, I'm thinking that they deliberately engaged in sex, and I was the result of that little meeting

•  if this life is all there is, how is there any meaning in life?

 In many ways, I create my own meaning, and the people I love and who love me, contribute to that meaning. And speaking of meaning, I often wonder, if I couldn't find meaning in this very short life, how I'd find it in an infinite life. But of course, that's just me being a smarty-pants, again ; )

• how do you know right from wrong?

The same way you do---that which seeks to avoid unnecessary harm to others is "good"; that which causes unnecessary harm to others is "bad".

• but there's nothing to say that I can't cause harm if I feel like, so, I guess I can do as I please, right?

 Yes, you can do as you please. And in doing so, you risk going to jail, going to prison, or in the worst case scenario, death. Best of luck with that.

• okay, then....did you know that human consciousness can influence a glass of water?

Okay...and? So, what? Even if that were scientifically confirmed in a controlled setting, there is very little else to conclude from it. It certainly wouldn't prove the existence of invisible, conscious beings, nor would it prove that consciousness survives the death of the physical body.


(Author's note: I will be adding to this list of commonly-asked questions for us smarty-pants Atheists)

Shared Illusions(Delusions)

Recently, one of my readership raised a note-worthy question. Paraphrased, the question was this: Can two people share illusions. Personally, I think delusions is a better word choice. But at any rate, the answer, I believe, is a resounding yes, two people can most certainly share an illusion/delusion, but I contend that not only two people can take part in this, but thousands, even millions, can. But let's deal with an example of the former, first(two people):

 There was a popular board game when I was growing up called the "Ouija Board", or sometimes called, a Spiritual Board, which is a board game that consists of a flat board with the alphabet and the numerals 0-9 on it, along with the words "yes", "no", and "goodbye" on it. On a few versions, there are also some artsy "mystical" symbols on it such as the ever-popular pentagram and half moon, which I suppose sets the mood for what's (supposedly) about to come. There is also a plastic or wooden indicator by which the "spirits"(be they good, or evil) presumably communicate, speaking through the players as "mediums" by pointing to letters/numbers/words to get their "message" across, during what's called a "séance". In a nutshell, players place their fingers(hint) on the indicator, then ask the "spirit world" questions in the hopes that a disembodied "person"(AKA "spirit") will answer. 

Next: A Bigger Game

How about an example of tens of thousands of people sharing an "illusion"? I speak of the the Marian Apparitions(of Fatima). To encapsulate, this is where 3 Shepherd children in Portugal were reportedly visited by an angel. The angelic visits where allegedly to prepare the children for visitations by the "Blessed Mother" starting in 1917. In July of that year, the "The Virgin Mary", herself, purportedly promised that there would be a "miracle" on October 13 so that all would believe. 

On October of that year, a crowd as big as 70,000 people showed up to see the event. There were reporters and photographers, as well. Once the rain had subsided, it was reported that the sun "danced" in the sky. This, believers contend, was the "miracle"..i.e..the evidence that, in fact, "The Blessed Mother" did keep her promise.

Now, what in tarnation is really going on, here? Tell me something, on list of what mostly likely happened in the above-cited examples, do you put talking "spirits", "angels", "demons", and "virgin" ghosts on the top of that list??? Or are those things at the very bottom of the list? I mean, how can two people, and especially thousands of people, be wrong and deluded?  Just how is this possible?

Here's how: 

Regarding the first example, the two playing the Ouija Board go into it EXPECTING to communicate with dead people. An expectation is the first ginormous hint that the ordeal will contain partiality. The next elephant-sized hint is that the participants are touching the indicator. Duh? Hello? Next, factor in that, since one player probably doesn't want the other player to feel let down, that, in all likelihood, he or she would then be willing to consciously move the indicator, and naturally, this would convince the other player that "spirits" are speaking through them. 

Last but not least, there is the "ideomotor effect", and this is where the subject makes motions unconsciously, and in the case of the Ouija Board, they move their hand unconsciously. For instance, like under certain conditions when tears are shed, this isn't done consciously, but unconsciously.
 
Regarding the second example, the 70,000 people are EXPECTING to see a "miracle". After all, their "faith" depends on it. Next, consider that they are hot, dehydrated from waiting outside, and most of all, they are looking...where? Why of course, they're looking directly into the flippin' SUN, just as they were instructed to do. 

Now, isn't it highly likely that staring directly into the sun(since it can cause blindness, after all) can cause hallucinations? And perhaps most importantly, why didn't any of the rest of the world's population see this event? Hmmmm.....

Poor, poor Mother Mary. Whatever will she do with her gullible children?    

Why I Care About Other's Beliefs: Part (??)

The short answer to this frequently asked question is this: Because people's beliefs lead to people acting on those beliefs, and people acting on their beliefs have real consequences and affect the world we live in. And many times, this is for the worse.

To expound, examples will probably be the best. Here are a few:

• Kim Jong-il: Kim Jong-il was the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He had absolute power over his country, and he wanted that power over the world, fully prepared to do whatever it took to have it. He threatened to "wipe out the US" several times. His beliefs make the world I live in more dangerous than it needs to be.

• Terry Jones: Terry Jones is a Christian Pastor in the US who burned a copy of the Koran in protest of another Christian Pastor being held in prison in Iran. Donning a shirt that *had "Infidel" printed on it, he ignited a copy of the Koran. Naturally, this upset Muslims, many of whom already hate the US, enough to want us all dead.  

 * The irony here is that the bible that Mr. Jones carries under his arm condones the killing of the infidel, as well, meaning, non-Christians in the bible's case.

So, both the "Holy Bible" and the "Holy Qu'ran" condone the killing of the "infidel"(nonbelievers). Fortunately, most Christians ignore that passage because they are at least smart enough to know that killing people for what they believe(or don't believe) is not reasonable/ethical. Sadly, there are sects of Muslims who take their Qu'rans literally and they want non-Muslims DEAD. Their beliefs make the world I live in a more dangerous place than it needs to be.

There are other beliefs that are more benign, but yet, still affect us. For example, many proponents of the "New Age" movement believe that things like "Homeopathy", "Crystals",  "Reflexology", and "Touch Therapy" can cure disease. Many patients who believe in and use these methods actually become more sick, and in rare cases, even die, opting for such treatments in lieu of the alternative, which is real, scientifically-tested medicine. 

Now, while these beliefs don't make the world I live in more dangerous, it is dangerous in other ways because they offer false hope. True, these things are claimed to "work" for some people, but in these cases, certain other things cannot be ruled out, such as placebo effect, real medicine used in conjunction with these things, and last but not least, pure coincidence. 

So, in closing, if someone suggests that it's no use to care about people's beliefs, I'd say that he or she would be wrong, at best. And note, caring about people's beliefs doesn't and shouldn't mean that we believe that these people's minds can be changed about their respective beliefs. No, not at all. Most people will go to their graves with the beliefs they'd been handed by their family, friends, Pastors, Priests, and spiritual teachers. But there is a small of percentage of people willing to admit their errors and change their minds, and I was(am) one of those. This is how I know that having these discussions matters, and why I know that caring what people believe matters.