WHat is death? Death of the soul? Death of the mind? Death of the Body?

So last time I connected religion to death. Everyone can freak out if they want, because connecting religion to death is probably not what most people want to see. The question you should be asking to yourselves though, is what is death? Does death just have one exact meaning? I believe death has different meaning to everyone, and the meaning of death is not static. SO what exactly is death?

I am venturing to say that everyone for the most part, claims death would be to cease to exist, or stop. Maybe even the end of a lifetime. This is not how I view death though. I view death as a decision point and start to a new cycle of events. Every death brings about different direction or new events that soon fall in place. So how can you sit there and say death is actually an end. Even further how can you say death is the ceasing of existence…I hope that words is real. I have had several family members die over my lifetime and it sucks. The one thing I have come to believe though is that they do not just disappear or cease to exist. They in fact are still very much around and a part of our lives. How you might ask? Well with there knowledge and teachings, we constantly shape our behavior and adhere to knew ideas or thoughts. My aunt used to tell me to keep my hands out of my pockets in front of large crowds because it looks like I am playing with myself. Well low and behold, every time I am in front of a large crowd, or in public, I keep that in mind. SHE has not disappeared as a result of her death. Therefore how can death be the end of existence? It can’t.

For some, death completely changes your lifestyle or decision making process. If death was the end of existence, would that knowledge or thought end with the person in the ground? Can anyone tell me of someone who has died, and completely gone away? I highly doubt it, and I challenge yourself to re-evaluate your definition of death in general.

 

Yes, death is extremely sad, but the things that result from it can be amazing and life altering. Death isn’t the end of existence, but rather the change point in a long line of cause and effect.

Peace out

Religion is not what YOU think it is…

So my previous draft discussed what my goal is for this blog. So might as well jump into the gritty details quickly. The title of this blog post is correct in every since of the word. Religion is created and maintained by you, the people around you, history, and writings. So religion is really not what YOU think it is, because in all reality it is what others have established before you. It is also what you add to it in your lifetime. So the question is, what do you connect religion to? Or, what is religion to you?

Religion= comfort

I connect religion and comfort, because I grew up around it. Whenever I am sitting in a church pew or seeing another individual talk about religious activities, I am comfortable. I can draw back to my upbringing, and there is nothing like it. Now there are definitely situations in which religion can make me uncomfortable but for the most part religion and comfort are my connection. I am sure some of you connect memories of back home to comfort, and this just happens to be one of mine.

Religion= challenging

I connect religion to challenging or challenge, because it is a challenge to actually make your mind have faith in something. For me, I was brought up Christian, and therefore have a belief in God. Therefore I was brought up to believe in someone I could not physically see or touch. Growing up that might not be so difficult because our minds are limited in perspective and new knowledge, but now it is unbelievably challenging. In fact, for those of you who claim it easy to be religious, I am baffled. How is it easy to believe in something that is not in front of you? This goes against science and the very thought process of our brains.

Now this connection gets an extra paragraph, because it is also a challenge to answer constant questions from those who do not have a religious background. So many subjects go unquestioned if you present knowledge or facts, but knowledge rooted in religion is questioned every time. Trust me, religion is challenging.

Religion= love

This might be odd for some of you, but I truly have never experienced Love from individuals like I have at a religious event. I am sure others have had other experiences, and I have had uncomfortable or judgmental experiences as well, but my true connection is more so with love. I have people who still send gift cards to me, who I have not talked to in years. Individuals remember my name, help my family, and actually genuinely care about each other. Therefore, I see religion as connected to love.

 

 Religion= Death

Everyone might see this connection as controversial, but that is OK. This is one connection I can make based on what I know and understand. This is based on my knowledge of Crusades, religious attacks, and going back to biblical years….killing of religious followers. I can connect religion and death, because religious beliefs have lead to death, and in facts a lot of it.

 

All things are connected in some way or form, and these are just some of my connections that I associate with religion.The connections have been created and maintained by myself, history, and those around me. So I ask you again, what is religion to you? What do you connect it to?

Religion is not what you thought it was, is it?

Connecting one thing at a time….in no time

One of my favorite quotes came from Steve Jobs in which he said creativity is just connecting the dots. No that is not word for word, and if you want to see the entire quote, just type in Steve Jobs and Famous quotes. This just adds to my curiosity, if creativity is connecting the dots, then knowledge must go along the same lines as well. So why not create as many connections as possible with knowledge from each and every person. If we can somehow do this, then more information will be available and we will have unlimited amount of information about how the world actually interacts together. Brands, businesses, and politicians all seek mass amounts of information to better understand thought processes, so why not actually do it for something that can make  a difference in the way the world works?

Therefore the entire purpose of this blog is to do exactly that. It is to try and gain as much information, from as many people as possible, to build an actual knowledge base in which we can connect the way each thing interacts with each other. There is no general direction each week will bring, but it will mostly be decided by everyone who places input into each blog I post. The importance of response is of the utmost, and the key is being the why behind answers. For example: I connect water to Lemonade. This connection is great, but there is no knowledge gained by just stating a connection. Instead I want and need the why it is connected. In this case I connect it, because I just add water to my powder in order to actually make lemonade. Boom, a connection is made and now the important why is connected. Now when I get in discussions with someone else I can actually explain the connection and why it is so.

For the first topic, I am going with the oh so scary religion topic. Why? Well religion usually creates strong response, and I want to hear the why behind everyone’s connection with religion. What do they think of when religion is mentioned, and what do they connect it with in there lives. The connection can be any word, object, experience, thought. The idea is to at least have a why behind the connection. So when you do respond, place at the top the thing you are connecting it to and below that, the why. You can make multiple connections of course, and this will all help in developing a knowledge base of connections for just religion.

Eventually the idea is to be able to go back and review the connections and see how they change over time, or what the more common connections are to religion as time changes.

So, for all those who actually made it to the third post……think Religion, and what all do you connect it to based on your knowledge and experience.

Signing out…

A View from the sky, from the ground, and around the corner

So I hope everyone recovered nicely from that first mind blowing experience I provided for you. My mind feels refreshed, and like all other good things is ready for round two. The obstacle with round two is always…..will it be as good or better? Well I will let you decide for yourself, but I plan on making this experience new and unique.

I absolutely love asking people questions on ridiculous subjects just to see how they react and reason. Nothing gets a good thought process going like an out of the blue comment or question that shocks the mind. Just think, we are creatures of habit, and therefore trudge along with the same way of conversing, explaining, and viewing. As soon as a question or thought disrupts the norm, we are forced to actually think, and therefore the true and unique thought process of an individual is revealed. Scary shit, extremely scary, but absolutely makes you think right now at this moment. I am sure you are all like what the hell is happening right now? That is good, because that is exactly where I want you to be right now.

Now you might ask what is so important or interesting about disrupting the mind, and seeing into anther’s thought process? PERSPECTIVE. No I did not just shout that out, but when you disrupt the normal mind you can now see new and interesting perspectives. You can actually view the world from above, below, and around corners. Wait…I just tied my title into the blog post….the first time is always amazing. We have to get out of the norm of viewing the world from one perspective. It is almost as though robots are walking around the world at times. In fact how can you truly make an informed decision, or understand the complexity and beauty of a situation or object without all perspective? Well that is the problem, we can’t, and that is why we fail so many times.

So everyone is still trying to figure out what I am saying, which is even better. Or you think you have me figured out, but you are wrong. Here is an example of what I think I am saying. A rusty old violin is sitting on a chair in an abandoned home. My perspective, being illiterate in music, is that it is scrap and should be tossed to the side. Another next to me, who loves music, sees an instrument that is salvageable and can produce beautiful notes. The third individual just happens to be the granddaughter of the man who played the instrument, and sees it for the beautiful music it made at the hands of a loved one. The final man needs more firewood, and sees this as a potential source of heat. If we take the perspective of just one of these individuals out, the true complexity and beauty of it is lost. Wait what? Yes, the TRUE complexity is lost. Yes, each one can find beauty or use in the instrument, but our knowledge is only limited to that perspective and is therefore lacking.

This is all crazy is it not? Every object and event we see is seen through a limited perspective and is not even the full encompassing story behind it! We need to appreciate everything a little more than we already do, and seek others perspective! With additional perspective comes a better understanding of the world and how it is connected.

 

Ok everyone, if only my mind could split me in half multiple times…..or can it?

My Mind Has Been Unlocked…and there is reason to have fear!

First off, my grammar will not be perfect. Why? Well I have a knack for trying to keep up with my mind, and it is so damn beautiful what comes out that I shouldn’t correct it. Surprisingly enough, that first line brings me to the first mind orgasm experience you will receive from reading this. Yes, I coin a term Mind orgasm, because an orgasm is great, and when it is in your brain…even better.

So anyhow, my first orgasm experience I will provide revolves around the changing and editing of words, or a word, or a comma…etc. Do human individuals not realize how much the meaning of something changes with what word, words, punctuation, or annunciation is chosen? Let’s start with this simple sentence: The cow is a great animal. Or wait, The cow is an animal.  Look at those two examples, the magnitude and brilliance of something can be lost or changed with just a drop of a word. Is this not mind blowing to anyone else? Shouldn’t we take more pride and importance in the words we choose to describe even the simplest of tasks? I think we should.

Now wait, why even care about the description of anything, such as a great cow. Well, mind blowing as it is, each experience and description will never actually be the exact same as the one before it. Wow, crazy shit I say, and if you aren’t interested why the hell I made that comment then you probably have not seen an elephant that actually is afraid of a mouse.

Here is the meaning of it all though. I see a cow and you see a cow. I have just seen the first cow in my life. You have seen the 1,500,000 cow in your life, or however many exist in the dairy state of Wisconsin. We both say a cow is an animal. BOOM, an entire experience and meaning that can’t exactly be replicated is lost with the dropping or failure to add words in a statement. Why lose this moment? Why lose this experience? Describe it so we can all experience this feeling over and over again. Describe your thoughts and experiences so we can view them through your brain. Create new angles of information and viewpoints that we have never thought of before.

The choice of words and descriptions of experiences is extremely powerful. Each experience has a different meaning to everyone, but no one can learn or understand from those different experiences if they are not conveyed with passion. True knowledge comes from understanding not only your own experiences, but experiences through the eyes of others.

 

Sit back my friends, are you looking at the TV the same way the other person in the room is?