The Power of Myth (ISBN 0-385-41886-8) by Joseph Campbell, is of course, an excellent introduction to mythology and why it still matters. It also serves as a very good introduction to comparative religion, as it covers not only the "Big Three" of western civilization (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), but also Eastern and even Native American religious thought. For example, one of the highlights of the book is a delightful story about Indra's castle.
What may not be readily apparent is that the myths not only represent things that may happen in our lives, for example the quest and the coming of age, but also things that could or should happen, like spiritual development and what I will call for expediency's sake "enlightenment."
Even though I reviewed a couple of books before this one, the seeker of wisdom will do well to read this one first.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
The Matrix Reconsidered
Let us consider the model of reality as portrayed in the Matrix movies. In this model, all sensory inputs are supplied to us by a computer modeling an imaginary world designed to keep us busy while we supply heat and energy to our AI controllers.
Now, let's make a couple of modifications to this model. First, in addition to sensory inputs, thoughts and emotions will be supplied by the computers in addition to (best case) or instead of (worst case) our own. Second, to improve scalability, some (or most) of the data processing is offloaded to the client machines, or in other words, our brains. Appropriate programs are downloaded to our brains and the physics affecting "nearby" objects is processed locally. Other programs could be run locally, but because the downloaded programs provide a strong "disincentive for doing so, there is little need on the part of the AI controllers to monitor local programs.
Replace the AI controllers with reptilian creatures from another dimension and we now have the model of reality as given by David Icke's book "Infinite Love is the Only Truth; Everything Else is Illusion." (ISBN 0-9538810-6-7) Some of you who have read Icke's other books are probably thinking, "Yes, but what about the lizards?" Forget about the lizards! They can best be considered as a metaphor for the AI controllers I mentioned above. They just happen to look like lizards to those of us who can see them. It doesn't matter in the least. The entire point of the book is that the lizards have no real power over us except to the extent that we run their downloaded programs on our brain computers.
That said, I have the same complaint about this book as I have about the rest of his books: too much space devoted to preaching to the choir about the Illuminati control network and not enough detail about what to do about it. If you've read his other books, you could probably just read chapter three ("Downloading Reality") and chapter ten ("Logging Off") and not miss anything important. On the other hand, you'll probably find the book well worth the money for just those two chapters.
Now, let's make a couple of modifications to this model. First, in addition to sensory inputs, thoughts and emotions will be supplied by the computers in addition to (best case) or instead of (worst case) our own. Second, to improve scalability, some (or most) of the data processing is offloaded to the client machines, or in other words, our brains. Appropriate programs are downloaded to our brains and the physics affecting "nearby" objects is processed locally. Other programs could be run locally, but because the downloaded programs provide a strong "disincentive for doing so, there is little need on the part of the AI controllers to monitor local programs.
Replace the AI controllers with reptilian creatures from another dimension and we now have the model of reality as given by David Icke's book "Infinite Love is the Only Truth; Everything Else is Illusion." (ISBN 0-9538810-6-7) Some of you who have read Icke's other books are probably thinking, "Yes, but what about the lizards?" Forget about the lizards! They can best be considered as a metaphor for the AI controllers I mentioned above. They just happen to look like lizards to those of us who can see them. It doesn't matter in the least. The entire point of the book is that the lizards have no real power over us except to the extent that we run their downloaded programs on our brain computers.
That said, I have the same complaint about this book as I have about the rest of his books: too much space devoted to preaching to the choir about the Illuminati control network and not enough detail about what to do about it. If you've read his other books, you could probably just read chapter three ("Downloading Reality") and chapter ten ("Logging Off") and not miss anything important. On the other hand, you'll probably find the book well worth the money for just those two chapters.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Book Review: The Christ Conspiracy
The Christ Conspiracy: the Greatest Story Ever Sold (ISBN 0-932813-74-7) by Acharya S asserts that the historical Jesus never existed and that Christianity as we know it is was created by the Romans to become the new state religion. Plenty of evidence is given to support the assertion, including quotes from early clergy members and other Roman writers. It also documents that many attributes of the Jesus story, for example the virgin birth and the resurrection, existed in other religions before Christianity.
This book has a difficult mission in that the people who most need its message will be the least likely to pick it up in the first place. Those who do will be turned off by the first few chapters, which seem to be beating a dead horse after the first few pages. It also gives the impression of the author being just another bitter atheist. If you'll visit her website (http://www.truthbeknown.com) you'll see that she's at least not really an atheist (although I'm not sure if
she's bitter).
Other interesting subjects treated by the book include little-known references to astrology in the Bible and evidence of a global culture in prehistoric times.
I would recommend reading her book if you're interested in the subject matter, but the material on her website seems to me to be more worthwhile.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Why I'm Here
The idea that the major world religions have a common source and goal is not new. I discovered the idea in the course of my research. My contribution, if I have one to make, will be to compile the relevant sources and put out the information in a 21st century format.
What these religions are ultimately pointing at cannot be adequately described by words. If it could, it would have been common knowledge long ago. Therefore, a strict literal interpretation of any scripture is not suitable for our purpose. We will be reading between the lines, and remembering that the map is not the territory.
Also, I have found that the search for truth causes a change inside ourselves that makes life more meaningful and rewarding. I hope that proves true for you as well.
What these religions are ultimately pointing at cannot be adequately described by words. If it could, it would have been common knowledge long ago. Therefore, a strict literal interpretation of any scripture is not suitable for our purpose. We will be reading between the lines, and remembering that the map is not the territory.
Also, I have found that the search for truth causes a change inside ourselves that makes life more meaningful and rewarding. I hope that proves true for you as well.
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