Turns out the way, the truth, and the life, is really the half way, the half truth, and a half a life—and it meddles with nature, a serious setback.
Holding to faith as the pinnacle of religious virtue, it has created a great famine of original thought and stunted the collective growth of the species. But we were told it was so much more than it is, which is fine if you never examine any other ways of thinking, or being.
Even atheism with its functional, unlimited connection and hope for humanity—to grant every inhabitant of the planet equal asylum, surpasses religious morality with ethical behavior—simply a more natural, organic development based on fairness.
Religions in general have failed to accept nature as boss. But in the end, after all the information-gathering research, decisions are made by hunches, snap judgments from somewhere in the consciousness, and often against your own judgment. Hunches that have billions of people raising families and living in homes and going on holiday. To the pious skeptic regarding the natural man, isn’t this a testament to the effectiveness of nature and the brain? The more we try to fix the world and shoehorn religious ideals into the public forum, the more we have to look around and say, wow! everyone seems to be getting along just fine, with or without my belief. Nature is best left alone to do its thing. Be happy with that and leave it be—it’s a lot smarter than you think.
“It brings in to play innate and spontaneous intelligence by using it without forcing it. It is fundamental to both the Taoist and Confucian thought, that the natural man is to be trusted, and from their standpoint it appears that the western mistrust of human nature is a kind of schizophrenia”—Alan Watts
This point of view is that the brain is a fundamental organism of nature and is to be trusted without coercion, which is evidenced by the success of humanity—in spite of the various commandments and synthetic religious dogmas. Even the Native American traditions exemplified this process.
I am the walrus, 2020
TheCommonAtheist 
The whole world is schizophrenic, but only 1% are ever told so.
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Makes one wonder sometimes. I do think the brain could be a lot calmer without cities. That’s a lot of interference
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I hope this isn’t too far off point. If it is, I apologize in advance. I watched an episode of “Doomsday Preppers” last night in which a man has lived off the land for years now in the mountains of Hawaii. He asks “god” about each and everything he picks up to eat without using learned knowledge or anything else hoping he will survive. He has, in turn, put all aspects of his life and survival into the hands of asking this “god” to guide each and every step he takes. I dare say that the vast majority of peoples, atheists and believers, would assert this man is a little crazy. More than a little in my opinion. Yet isn’t this just what so many people of faith have done to a large degree? Decided to put the outcome of their lives into the hands of “god” simply by believing and asking for protection?
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I think your comment really hits the mark. It reminds me of when anthropologists contacted the Kofan, they were amazed at their ability to mix different species of plants. When asked how they knew they were told the plants spoke to them and gave off specific vibrations on the night of a full moon. After analyzing some of their work in the lab we found they were correct. And what we saw as one species they recognized as more than 15. There are many beautiful ways of being in the world, unfortunately most of them have been wiped out because they were merely savages. And probably succulent ones, no less. (See how I did that?)
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I sure did. 😉
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When I was scrolling down a little less than half of the painting became visible and I murmured “Woo, woo, I am the walrus!” It is either a miracle or art evokes thoughts and feelings. I wonder which it is?
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I used the magic words, koo koo k’choo. It works every time.
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Religion requires its adherents to close their minds as well as their eyes. Atheism asks that people open both. The former says “must,” the latter says “maybe.” God takes responsibility for everything they do; we take responsibility for what we do. Religion stultifies change. Atheism welcomes it. These are my opinions.
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Religious belief certainly limits what you can focus your attention to. If if looks at all to fall outside of such belief, the investigations are superficial at best. They go into anything contrary to their belief with an effort to discredit new information.
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Thanks. I wish I had that last sentence before I signed off on the comment I just wrote to a believer. It’s nice and succinct.
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The problem with believing in absolute truths is there is no desire for improvement.
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Well said.
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You have a case of L’esprit de l’escalier, a French term used in English for the predicament of thinking of the perfect reply too late. Textbook case.
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the eastern traditions are superior in that they base their philosophy on direct observation of reality, rather than ideas, as religions do. and they see how everything works as a whole. we in the west tend to separate reality, study things apart from each other, look at things as separate, and so diverging the whole and creating conflict. every little thing in this world is how it is because the universe is how it is. a few degrees rise in ocean temperature, and it’ll change the whole ecosystem. the smallest (take covid virus) can easily destroy the biggest!
we see ourselves as separate individuals living some private life in our own minds… and so we’ve estranged from the whole. but this idea is a complete illusion. reality is one, how could it be separate? it is the wrong perception that breaks it into pieces.
we see the body as one, not as an amalgamation of cells working together. when one thing breaks down, it affects the whole body. why do we expect differently from the world?
nothing is separate, it is all one varied, undifferentiated, all awareness pervading whole. the universe is not a ‘thing’ that has or has no awareness. it IS awareness itself. intelligence is not its attribute. it is its essence. it is what it is made of. it is also what we are made of.
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“everyone seems to be getting along just fine, with or without my belief.” Oh, if only they would actually observe and see that! But they don’t. You could be wildly successful in any imaginable way, deliriously happy, well-adjusted, etc, but if you don’t have “god” they will just look at you with pity in their hearts and do their best to guide you to the “truth.”
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All this boastful pride in their god and belief and where has it taken them? Another generation dead and buried, waiting. In fact the entire lifestyle is a hoax, always preparing for the future from kindergarten to the grave, and never really living.
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