Paralysis by analysis
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Peace friends, old and new,
I hope the new year is inspiring all to reflect and improve.
Just wanted to share some thoughts...This amazing journey called life has taken many turns for me, as I'm sure it has for all of you. In sifting through the mass amounts of information available these past few years, I reached a point of overload. There was just too much input - too many questions, too many answers, too many facts contradicted by other facts - and waaaaay too many opinions on what those facts actually mean.
Nevertheless, I always felt like logic would reign champion and provide the proper filter to strain out the nonsense and reveal the true nuggets of life. And so it was, for quite some time, that logic has been my lifeline of sorts. It was my security blanket, my litmus test. It was, for all intents and purposes, the ONLY truly objective form of measuring information.
But then at some point it occurred to me that in reality logic is actually subjective. It's only as strong as the current index of information stored in my brain. And if that information is jaded, so then is my logic. The errors compound and eventually snowball into a mass of ignorance. This in itself is not so bad. But when one is fooled by his/her own brain into false conviction - therein lies the danger. And aren't we all atleast slightly tainted by our own experiences?
So where is truth and how do we find it? I?m certainly not suggesting that anyone abandon logic. It is a useful tool just as a thermometer or a spatula. It serves a purpose and that?s it. It is not, by any means, THE tool for finding truth and the answers to all the existential questions.
No, that stuff, I?m starting to believe, we?re only allowed glimpses of. See, we are eternal souls occupying finite bodies in a finite universe. The only answers our bodies (minds) can muster are the ones that pertain to the finite - just as a mathematical formula cannot be used to decipher the etymology of the word ?zebra?.
This finite world needs to be EXPERIENCED by your eternal being. It is the experience that is the teacher. The mind can then sort the experiences but must, in all cases, then refer this data to the heart for processing.
Thus, my message to you all is this stop thinking so much. Stop searching for structured, definitive truths. What is the point, really? This life, this journey, is about YOU. It?s about your development so you can be ready and evolve when the next phase is upon you.
Look around you, in your little piece of the world. What challenges are staring you in the face? What issues are you not dealing with? What behaviors are you not transcending? What relationships are you allowing to decay or remain broken? What?s your neighbor?s name for God?s sake? Do you keep your piece of the world cultivated, clean and healthy? Do you keep yourself challenged physically and mentally? Do you bring good energy into this world? Are you smiling regularly? Laughing? Loving? Are you gaining new experiences, seeing new things, hearing new sounds, smelling new scents, and expanding your view of the world? You are surrounded by blessings designed specifically for you to experience.
Remember, the test of this life is not for all of us to become historians and race to compile the most facts. It is about development through the little slices of God?s attributes that we have access to. There is no cold, only lack of heat ? no darkness, only lack of light ? all manipulated by US. Nature is telling us exactly how to do it.
My new mantra is ?do good in everything, keep every aspect of life pure and genuine, and in every action, decision, or thought ? treat others as you want and expect to be treated?. Is this not harmonious with the teachings of the great reading?
Thanks for entertaining my rant.
May peace be upon you all.
-Tay -
Peace friends, old and new,
I hope the new year is inspiring all to reflect and improve.
Just wanted to share some thoughts...This amazing journey called life has taken many turns for me, as I'm sure it has for all of you. In sifting through the mass amounts of information available these past few years, I reached a point of overload. There was just too much input - too many questions, too many answers, too many facts contradicted by other facts - and waaaaay too many opinions on what those facts actually mean.
Nevertheless, I always felt like logic would reign champion and provide the proper filter to strain out the nonsense and reveal the true nuggets of life. And so it was, for quite some time, that logic has been my lifeline of sorts. It was my security blanket, my litmus test. It was, for all intents and purposes, the ONLY truly objective form of measuring information.
But then at some point it occurred to me that in reality logic is actually subjective. It's only as strong as the current index of information stored in my brain. And if that information is jaded, so then is my logic. The errors compound and eventually snowball into a mass of ignorance. This in itself is not so bad. But when one is fooled by his/her own brain into false conviction - therein lies the danger. And aren't we all atleast slightly tainted by our own experiences?
So where is truth and how do we find it? I?m certainly not suggesting that anyone abandon logic. It is a useful tool just as a thermometer or a spatula. It serves a purpose and that?s it. It is not, by any means, THE tool for finding truth and the answers to all the existential questions.
No, that stuff, I?m starting to believe, we?re only allowed glimpses of. See, we are eternal souls occupying finite bodies in a finite universe. The only answers our bodies (minds) can muster are the ones that pertain to the finite - just as a mathematical formula cannot be used to decipher the etymology of the word ?zebra?.
This finite world needs to be EXPERIENCED by your eternal being. It is the experience that is the teacher. The mind can then sort the experiences but must, in all cases, then refer this data to the heart for processing.
Thus, my message to you all is this stop thinking so much. Stop searching for structured, definitive truths. What is the point, really? This life, this journey, is about YOU. It?s about your development so you can be ready and evolve when the next phase is upon you.
Look around you, in your little piece of the world. What challenges are staring you in the face? What issues are you not dealing with? What behaviors are you not transcending? What relationships are you allowing to decay or remain broken? What?s your neighbor?s name for God?s sake? Do you keep your piece of the world cultivated, clean and healthy? Do you keep yourself challenged physically and mentally? Do you bring good energy into this world? Are you smiling regularly? Laughing? Loving? Are you gaining new experiences, seeing new things, hearing new sounds, smelling new scents, and expanding your view of the world? You are surrounded by blessings designed specifically for you to experience.
Remember, the test of this life is not for all of us to become historians and race to compile the most facts. It is about development through the little slices of God?s attributes that we have access to. There is no cold, only lack of heat ? no darkness, only lack of light ? all manipulated by US. Nature is telling us exactly how to do it.
My new mantra is ?do good in everything, keep every aspect of life pure and genuine, and in every action, decision, or thought ? treat others as you want and expect to be treated?. Is this not harmonious with the teachings of the great reading?
Thanks for entertaining my rant.
May peace be upon you all.
-TayYay, tay, you are back after a long vacation yay
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Peace
But then at some point it occurred to me that in reality logic is actually subjective. It's only as strong as the current index of information stored in my brain. And if that information is jaded, so then is my logic. The errors compound and eventually snowball into a mass of ignorance. This in itself is not so bad. But when one is fooled by his/her own brain into false conviction - therein lies the danger. And aren't we all atleast slightly tainted by our own experiences?
Well it is subjective to the individual though the reading/researching helps challenge ones logic to really decipher whether it is actually logical or if it is tainted with error. We are tainted off course, we?re brought up in a world filled of discourses. We didn?t choose these discourses but at least we can reflect upon them and reason and choose/change them, I mean that?s if we wish to.
Doesn?t thinking/searching help one find ways to improve their life? I agree that we should look at our own worlds and live life, deal with our challenges, laugh and embrace the joys and off course do good.
My new mantra is ?do good in everything, keep every aspect of life pure and genuine, and in every action, decision, or thought ? treat others as you want and expect to be treated?. Is this not harmonious with the teachings of the great reading?
It is )
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Peace, brother Tay,
Nice to see you post again, and for giving us your current line of thinking.
It is true to say AQ advises a multi-faceted approach in determining the truth. And a big component of this is of course one's experience in the real-world.
My new mantra is ?do good in everything, keep every aspect of life pure and genuine, and in every action, decision, or thought ? treat others as you want and expect to be treated?. Is this not harmonious with the teachings of the great reading?
Nice, and I agree.
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Peace friend
Nice philosophical post and interesting thoughts.
Nevertheless, I always felt like logic would reign champion and provide the proper filter to strain out the nonsense and reveal the true nuggets of life. And so it was, for quite some time, that logic has been my lifeline of sorts. It was my security blanket, my litmus test. It was, for all intents and purposes, the ONLY truly objective form of measuring information.
But then at some point it occurred to me that in reality logic is actually subjective. It's only as strong as the current index of information stored in my brain. And if that information is jaded, so then is my logic. The errors compound and eventually snowball into a mass of ignorance. This in itself is not so bad. But when one is fooled by his/her own brain into false conviction - therein lies the danger. And aren't we all atleast slightly tainted by our own experiences?
So where is truth and how do we find it? I?m certainly not suggesting that anyone abandon logic. It is a useful tool just as a thermometer or a spatula. It serves a purpose and that?s it. It is not, by any means, THE tool for finding truth and the answers to all the existential questions.
In the past i also belived that logic could solve almost anything. I thought that reason is the only thing we need. But this is a trap, its an illusion. Reason/logic has certain abilities, but reason can not solve all our problems, and it definitely can not give us all the answers. There are physical laws that we can see and other laws that we can not see that govern our universe. Especially the laws which are not physical, can not be detected through Reason/logic. We need revelation to discover these laws. You have probably read this book in the link below, but if you have not read it, i recommend it, it talks about "Reason and its limitations and functions". Check out this chapter 6
http//www.tolueislam.com/Parwez/ICR/ICR_5.htm
I also recommend chapter 7, this chapter is about "Reason" as well
http//www.tolueislam.com/Parwez/ICR/ICR_6.htm
It is true that logic is only as strong as the current information that is stored in our brain. I like this way of seeing it, and i agree. I think logic can help us to find the truth but not always. We need insight. We have to keep an open mind. And we have to judge information from a realistic view.
Thus, my message to you all is this stop thinking so much. Stop searching for structured, definitive truths. What is the point, really? This life, this journey, is about YOU. It?s about your development so you can be ready and evolve when the next phase is upon you.
True. We have duties to fullfill in this life. This quote is relevant
We should not be so taken up in the search for truth, as to neglect the needful duties of active life;
for it is only action that gives a true value and commendation to virtue.- Marcus Tullius CiceroLook around you, in your little piece of the world. What challenges are staring you in the face? What issues are you not dealing with? What behaviors are you not transcending? What relationships are you allowing to decay or remain broken? What?s your neighbor?s name for God?s sake? Do you keep your piece of the world cultivated, clean and healthy? Do you keep yourself challenged physically and mentally? Do you bring good energy into this world? Are you smiling regularly? Laughing? Loving? Are you gaining new experiences, seeing new things, hearing new sounds, smelling new scents, and expanding your view of the world? You are surrounded by blessings designed specifically for you to experience.
That are some good points. Your thoughts remind me of the message and ideas in two underground hiphop songs. If you like hiphop, i think these two songs will be interesting. The message and ideas in these songs are very similar to your thoughts. And i think they are motivating. Check them out
K-rino - Holla at me
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuLliYsFyhUK- Rino - Who are you
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7k_KZ_KMzMRemember, the test of this life is not for all of us to become historians and race to compile the most facts. It is about development through the little slices of God?s attributes that we have access to. There is no cold, only lack of heat ? no darkness, only lack of light ? all manipulated by US. Nature is telling us exactly how to do it.
My new mantra is ?do good in everything, keep every aspect of life pure and genuine, and in every action, decision, or thought ? treat others as you want and expect to be treated?. Is this not harmonious with the teachings of the great reading?
True. If you become the best historian but you forget your family, your friends, your neighbour, and people you can help, then you are nothing but a machine. A machine can also have huge amounts of knowledge about history stored in itself. Here are some relevant quotes we should reflect upon
Many of the things you can count don't count. Many of the things you can't count really count - Albert Einstein
Try not to become a man of success, but rather, try to become a man of value - Albert Einstein -
Well-written article. Mashallah. Interestingly, Tay asks us many questions and appeals to our logic to cast doubts about the potency of logic.
Peace,
Edip -
Peace to all,
Great to hear from you again Tay, I have come to the same conclusions as you. None of us will ever have this all figured out until we die and get to the next life, so in the meantime just try to be kind, smile alot, forgive others for everything, and as you said, try to be a better more productive person. I used to try to figure everything out and have all the answers but as I made one conclusion another one was destroyed, eventually, instead of getting frustrated I decided to just accept our limitations as created beings, and tried to work more on the eternal aspects of our nature.
Hope to hear more from you brother.
Kurt
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Peace all,
Munzir, good to be back and good to see you
Sarah, you stated
it is subjective to the individual though the reading/researching helps challenge ones logic to really decipher whether it is actually logical or if it is tainted with error
I agree to a certain extent. One must draw a line at some point and put the knowledge gained into practice in order to feel it's validity. A simple example would be imagine a person who has read 500 books on meditation but has not spent one moment meditating. All that knowledge is useless.
Doesn?t thinking/searching help one find ways to improve their life?
Certainly. My point is one should draw a line at a certain point and go and improve his/her life.
Wakas, good to see you as well brother.
David K, thanks for the kindness.
You statedEspecially the laws which are not physical, can not be detected through Reason/logic. We need revelation to discover these laws.
Can you provide an example?
In the meantime, please understand that my point is no matter what you read from what source, if it is your mind that is processing the words, then a true grasp of the understanding is not possible ? when we?re dealing with ideas beyond logic. Logic is the tool of the mind. Imagination and love are the tools of the eternal self. These do not translate back and forth.
The simplest and most blatant example is God. We, here at this forum, all believe in God?s existence ? with all of our hearts - yet not one person can even begin to explain what God is. The mind is simply not capable of reaching it. Yet we can feel God in everything we do. We can be filled with joy or sadness or peace or withdrawal all while thinking of God. But we cannot ever explain the ?substance? (for lack of a better word).And thank you for the links.
Edip, thank you for the kind words. Check your email.
Kurt, great to see you?re still here. I had a feeling this would be up your alley.
I hope to pop in more frequently.Peace,
Tay -
Peace Tay,
I understand what you mean. kinda like a professor/lecturer who is sitting with their books and not living/working in the field and someone who is working in the field would have a different sort of knowledge/benefit than one who just reads (the professor).
Reading/knowledge is one part of life, living/doing is another. Sometimes people forget on both sides of the field.
Thanks for the reminder
Peace
