Recent Comments

Less than 5 minutes ago: Wow I can't believe some of the uneducated gender polarizing comments posted on video. Jenise F puts out many facts not "ideology" that face women around the world. The inequality woman face in this world is huge due and the disbelief that it dose not exist to the extent that it dose just harms our society continuously more. Keep at it Jenise and Joe!

15 minutes ago: We dont have brick roofs. Most of our houses are wooden. There has been some damage to houses in chch but no major injuries or fatalities so far.

I think there are moderators and referees and I have given you my reasons (evidence), but they are very liberal so far as the freedom of speech goes. Which I think is excellent. Most posters moderate themselves and the silly ones get shot down by the community.

20 minutes ago: I extremely liked that talk, it is true that some people have been awarded by god with talents, wealth, good looks, etc. But they just don't use it, and thats what kind of needs to be fixed in this world. For example some people just waste their money on things that are pointless, they should use it to help others. 1 thing I didn't like was when he'd used examples about god on where he would appear. I know he wasn't serious, but it was pretty offensive.

25 minutes ago: Oh yeah, there's studies on that too. In a nutshell, being told you did a good job when you actually did a bad job and seeing someone else being challenged when they do a good job instead of being praised makes people think they, well, did literally unspeakably bad, and that the teacher has given up all hope on them ever doing better.

30 minutes ago: It really is not clear that I'm being sarcastic? That's why I put "OK people, seriously though, what is this ^ country coming to" - pointing to my sarcastic blurb above. Hah well sorry for not being clear enough.... I guess the fact that someone can read what I wrote and not know that its sarcasm only further proves my point...

35 minutes ago: Mike, consider these facts:


1. World population is not growing exponentially.Even the UN acknowledges it. Nine billion by 2050

2. 99% of all species which ever existed became extinct naturally.

3. In the last 100 years, population has gone from 1.6 billion to 6.9 billion. But life expectancy has double.That's an 8 fold increase in human life years.Economic growth brought about by the discovery of crude oil. All 6.9 billion people can live in Australia with much more comfort then I can here in Malta.

4. City life 100 years ago was a nightmare. Crude oil changes all that and gave you the modern cities you've come to know.

5. Increases in CO2 increase plant and tree growth. Meaning more life for both fauna and flora.

6. Cold kills many more people than warmth. Humanity lives in a temperature range of 104C

Lastly, there have always been problems throughout human history. Today's are no exception. But economics, technological innovation and power shall always see us through

35 minutes ago: "Actually, it says a lot. A persons behavior, from belief patterns to physical care to psychological awareness or lack thereof is a direct result of a persons thought patterns. "
This has nothing to do with faith.
"Did I state otherwise?"
So you admit that religious people might have gotten it wrong ?
"No, and you don't need a God or the supernatural to experience an altered state of consciousness" - so again, you agree, but where then does god fit in for you ?

40 minutes ago: LOL!!,

you can try google translate. it may not be perfect but it may work. otherwise, its me and you.

elif shafak is an absolutely beatiful lady, through and through. she really is a great story teller. I was totally enthralled by her lecture. she has such a refreshing way to explain things: great analogies.
this ladyis just fascinating.

40 minutes ago: I agree about the thinking patterns, but what has that to do with unfounded beliefs ?
Extremes are rarely good positions, hence I would agree as much with a religious fanatic as a militant atheist.
However, you cant' compare a religious person to an atheist. One believes something without reason and the other one refuses to give in to an unfounded belief.

45 minutes ago: We have not totally lost track of it. It is socialized out of us to a large degree. there are counter forces like nationalism, religion, race, gender and sex that act to diminish our empathy for one another.

Tangent:
you know, I often find it odd that sometimes a person that has little empathy with humans will sometimes be an avid dog lover. I wonder what happened to this person that they are now more able to empathize with a dog than another fellow human. This is not to say that we should not empathize with animals as theya re very vulnerable to us and we need to take care of the less fortunate, but how can one have great sympathy for a dog and very little for a human?

45 minutes ago: Well said, sir!

50 minutes ago: Excellent illustration of how leadership works.
One other point this makes is to not let your ego get in the way.

For person 1: Ego doesn't want to bear ridicule so it will keep the person from acting out his/her passion. He must overcome this strong resistance from the ego to be the leader.

For person 2: Ego doesn’t want ridicule, it also doesn’t want to be a follower. Both these impulses need to be fought to make person 1 a leader and get the cause rolling forward. This makes person 2’s job perhaps the hardest as he/she has to fight through the most ego resistance.

For person 3 – n: Ego fight gets progressively easier until the tipping point is achieved.

For person n – x: For these people there is not ego resistance but ego support to join the cause. Joining the cause is ego enhancing at this stage.

50 minutes ago: Me and my friends who watched this agree with you, Tim.

People are motivated for different reasons. Yes, he is correct this works for some people.... but definitely not all!

50 minutes ago: not really impressed with the presentation..

55 minutes ago: Sooo... I'm jumping in here, but are you really saying what I think you're saying, Mr. Careaga? Because I highly doubt you're saying that 'God did it' is becoming more accepted in scientific circles. And that's pretty much what (for the most part) the record shows, as far as the explanations of 'the ancients'...
Mind you, there are amazing exceptions - one of my favorites is the primitive steam engine described by Vitruvius, around ninety years B.C.E. . . . and it was used as a toy! Amazing.
Whether or not a theory is ironclad is something for the test of time to decide - but I think this Mr. Deutsch is on to something.

1 hour ago: damn! I suspected as much... I think that the lengths that we have to go to in order to obtain authentic foods is an indicator of how wrong a turn we've taken (as a nation) with regards to nutrition. it's all 'prepared-this' and 'prepared-that' - head out for groceries and there's more franken-food than ever before. the stuff is slowly making us sick.

weird, isn't it? here's a talk about organisms that have quietly done their thing - and lived, for thousands of years - are we're developing & marketing edible crap that's making us sick and no doubt lopping years off of our lifespans.

developed nation? hardly.

1 hour ago: thanks for that Chris, appropriately edited!

1 hour ago: Ok, fine....whatever ;-) I'm not getting into a debate whether there are moderators here or not. Actually I often wish there were, just don't see much evidence for that.
How far is Christchurch from where you live ? You must have a good sleep if you didn't feel a strong quake....lol
In any case, glad no brick fell out of your roof and on your head !!!

1 hour ago: JoeW.: "I am interested in the phenomenology of consciousness. I have read all of your postings and responses in your interaction with Harald. You seem amazingly confident in your knowledge of a spiritual reality and have combined various spiritual ideas in a unique way. "


lol ... that's a kind way of phrasing it.

1 hour ago: Joe W., con't.: "Here is my question.... does your knowledge derive from special states of consciousness in which you are directly perceiving these truths ... "

Depends on what you mean by 'special states of consciousness' -- dreaming is a 'special state of consciousness' ... meditation is a 'special state of consciousness' (among others) and then there's the Carlos Castenada way. :g:

Naturally I've read and learned intellectually, but if that learning is only limited to the intellect, it only feeds the ego. It's like looking at a photograph of food; it may delight some of the senses, but it doesn't nourish the body.

Christopher L. was spot-on when he said 'awakening is just the beginning'. As I understand it, the biggest issue people have is with this level of consciousness. But then, many do not really want to 'awaken' from their state of slumber ... that would require taking personal responsibility for every action/reaction in their lives.