The Alternative to God

An idea you hear expressed vociferously among atheists is the idea that theists see a human face in a creator because they are human. You take a society of giraffes, they have a giraffe-shaped being as an almighty being, with giraffe characteristics.

That's not the way I see it, and when I hear this idea I think of someone who has not done very much philosophy. "We are created in God's image" is not an important line to me.

One fundamental difference between the way atheists think and the way I think is about the concept of reality. What is really real? Well, what is really real is what is currently being experienced. Experiences are real. Without being experienced, atoms and objects on the grid of physical space are completely and utterly meaningless, and might as well not exist. No one would know the difference.

With the giraffe problem, you realize the flaw in your thinking when you realize that the traits we attribute to God are so fundamental it's hard to call them uniquely human. Traits like awareness, you think of awareness and you think of the numerous number of alternatives to awareness.

It goes back to the concepts of spirits before truth. There are one of two possibilities. Either the universe was created by spirits for spirits, or by dead particles and forces and CHAOS. You look at various belief systems, there may be different takes on these two ideas, or they may not express them in exactly the same words. But it comes down to, either spirits are more important and powerful than physical space and atoms or atoms are more powerful than awareness.

God is a conscious being. I am not making any other claims about his abilities other than He is intelligent, and has the power to will things into existence.

The belief that objects are more important than consciousness is one created by biased thinking related to some sort of conditioning. It "seems" unlikely that the soul transcends death or that God exists, you are not relying on any sort of evidence or higher reasoning powers, you say so due to a bleak worldview. These are my firm beliefs regarding these matters. It is emotional reasoning, not logical reasoning.

From a logical perspective, you see that something of great depth and beauty came from absolutely nothing. The universe had no soul and contained no awareness, and over a period of time it comes to the point where YOU exist. You want more than to survive as a species. You want more than for your offspring to produce more offspring. You want excitement, meaning, spiritual fulfillment, recognition, fame, respect, wonder, knowledge. These traits do not enhance your survival.

Objects over truth includes the idea that there is no good or bad, and the universe would have you endure an eternity of misery if that were a flaw in its design.

In a universe filled with empty space and lifeless atoms, the advent of self-awareness is a miracle. The alternative is no awareness. You either have awareness or you don't, there are no greater or smaller concepts, there are no alternative concepts to the idea of awareness. Of course, it may be that our human framework is incapable of comprehending them. And we take that into consideration, but for the time being we deal with what we are capable of understanding.

The idea of a self-aware being is not comparable to the idea of a giraffe god. A self-aware God contains awareness, intelligence, and will. Those are the only components we know about for sure. They are wrapped up into a concept that means that these three components are inseparable from each other. You contain the same three elements, and these three components inside you are also incapable of being separated from each other. This is a concept strongly in MY mind, and makes it so I can't reason with atheists. Well, if you don't have a soul, that means you wouldn't have (this concept). Wait, that's a concept you don't believe in, that I only understand on a subconscious level.

Also in an atheist world, it is completely normal to dwell on a large spherical object, orbiting another spherical object, in a universe where all over the place spherical objects orbit other spherical objects.

We Hate Sluts Why?

Why is being considered a slut a bad thing?

Honestly, the only reason I can see that the construct of a "slut" being shameful is in regards to cheating. Being polyamorous, that means it doesn't mean much. I mean if you were in a relationship with someone and they didn't want you to have sex with someone else, I guess maybe you would want to stay faithful. Just because it is some biological construct related to reproduction that makes a lot of people get jealous. I don't get jealous, so I have trouble sympathizing.

It's one of those dumbfuck things about society that slut-shaming even exists at all.

Other than in regards to cheating, I guess I wouldn't want to be the kind of person who goes around fucking every guy in town with sex that was meaningless. But I think if you were the kind of person who liked meaningless sex, I wouldn't think that was something to be really mean about. I mean, what do I know? Is this a character weakness? Maybe, but I don't know so let's err on the side of caution and say it's not.

In my worldview, if the sex is consensual and enjoyment is mutual and protection is used, there is no harm done. The more the better! Let the sex commence!

It kind of seems like the continuous beating up of a straw man argument.

What is wrong with the woman who sleeps around? Do we hate her because she likes sex? I thought that was a good thing. Like, a really really good thing. I thought the thing that was obnoxious in society was the woman who does NOT like sex. I must have missed something.

Naturally, it must be because she is attention-seeking and seeks approval from too many men. Which is the Toxic Notion that women do not actually enjoy sex, which is as we say here in Rachel Zuhl's world, a Baby Boy myth.

I have been thinking recently about the concept that seems to be talked about a lot, Toxic Masculinity. When I think of toxic masculinity I think of women being degraded by men in a sexual way. I don't mean men having dirty thoughts about women, I mean like lack of respect for women. I think of guys who demand sex, feel entitled to it, and in general don't respect the women they sleep with, or women at all for that matter. I think of misogyny.

When I googled toxic masculinity and slut-shaming I got references to toxic feminity. Female slut-shaming and male slut-shaming look entirely different. Women do it because they are jealous. Always.

I think I must have been absent for the life lesson about why tight-leggedness and virginity are valuable traits.

I am celibate, but that's because I am working on enlightenment.

I think what it comes down to is, let people live. Do what works for you.

Psychiatry and the Rise of Atheism

One time, I was talking to my dad, while undergoing Fish Out of Water Psychology. If you don't know what Fish Out of Water Psychology is, don't ask. That's a topic for a lot later. However, I thought that piece of information might be interesting to some people.

The comment he made was regarding the elderly. If there is an elderly person who is dying, and they are in pain, but refusing to take their pain killers, you should force them to take them, is what he said.

Of course, I brought up the idea that some people have a different belief system. There are people who think if they die addicted to a drug, they won't cross over because of it, or some variation on this belief system. He said that was a toxic belief system that should not be respected.

I can tell you based on my personal knowledge that not crossing over due to drug addiction is incredibly, incredibly rare. If you are the kind of person who is worried about it at all, you are not someone who wouldn't cross over due to drug addiction. It happens every once in awhile, but I do not agree that it is something you should worry about at the end of your life, when you are in pain and there is a pill that helps you feel better. However, I don't understand how you can be that arrogant. No one knows for sure the answers, and you aren't hurting anyone else by refusing your pain meds!

This was a comment that angered me on a very deep level. It represents some idea in society that forcing other people to take drugs is okay. The idea of "we know you better than you know yourself." Also the idea that because atheists own science, they automatically have all the correct answers on spiritual matters as well.

Another thing that comes up is the lyrics to a song by TLC. The song title is Unpretty. The lyric is, "if you can't look inside you, find out who am I to, be in a position to make me feel so DAMN unpretty?"

Anyway, for as long as I can remember, this has been my favorite song lyric because it is so annoying. I'm not sure if I understand it correctly, but it makes me think that you have NO RIGHT to call YOURSELF ugly. THAT IS NOT A FREEDOM YOU HAVE.

Anyway, apparently it goes back to some thoughts I was having as a kid, which I had without drawing any definite conclusions, regarding suicide. I'm not saying it's not WRONG to take your own life, first off. But I've always kind of wondered, if I decided to take my own life, why is it any of anyone else's business? Of course, I say that it was "without drawing any conclusions" because at the same time, I wouldn't want someone I cared about to take their own life. Just a thought you naturally think of when thinking about the idea of suicide.

So why would you not allow an elderly person to go through pain? I would have to ask my dad to clarify, and at the time, even though I was enduring excruciating pain I got mad at him and reprimanded him intensely for having such a repulsive belief. He backed down a little bit when I did that.

I wonder if this is a general attitude in society now, related to atheist culture. With the advances of science and psychiatry, it doesn't necessarily say anything at all about the existence or nonexistence of God. However, who is to say feelings or emotions or experiences are meaningful when you can dramatically alter them by swallowing a pill? Furthermore, there are moral qualms some people have regarding the idea of taking medication that are completely disregarded and stomped on by psychiatrists and mental health professionals. What if these drugs have unknown detrimental side effects? What if whatever the goal of me taking the medication, is a goal you have and one I don't have (like preventing high energy states or talking to yourself)? What if there are a bunch of side effects I actually NOTICE on a regular basis that makes me not want to take the drug at all? In guardianship situations, all these situations are laughed at. You are incapable of assessing yourself.

Rachel, you are unable to assess your own condition. We will leave the assessment of your condition to the dementia patients. Thank you, have a nice day.

Symptoms of High Energy Usage

The topic I would like to cover today is personal energy usage.

Everyone requires the physical energy that comes from food to fuel their bodies and minds. There is also something called spiritual energy, which you also get from food, but mainly pull in from the environment.

I personally have an incredibly high consumption of spiritual energy. I require it do do mental and spiritual tasks. The word inspiration comes to mind, as in order to be inspired, one must pull in energy from the environment.

One habit I have is walking, or pacing. As of late, I have been in a physical rut, as I have not been excessively active. One habit I had prior to leaving for Innercept, and most notably when I came back from Innercept and was living at home, was the constant necessity to go for walks. I have a two mile loop around the neighborhood I go around on a regular basis. I take my iPod out for a stroll, walk, and as I do so I pull in energy. I get hyped up to the music, and this keeps me mentally alert, inspired, and active.

A lot of times, when I receive "inspiration" or make a breakthrough, in writing a Facebook status, posting a blog, or doing something similar, I head out for a walk so I can reflect and remain centered and energized.

When I go to the hospital, I find that I cannot function very well at all. This is something that my parents and hospital staff do not get about me. After about a week, I start to feel very drained, low stamina, low mental energy, low ability to control my temper, low concentration, etc. Just completely fatigued mentally. That's because the environment at the hospital is energy depleted due to lack of ability to move around, lack of plants and greenery, lots of people in low emotional states, etc. I can't function very well at the hospital! They seem to have some sort of attitude like, play it safe stay at the hospital. In reality, I function a lot better at home where I can move around.

Another thing is, music is a requirement for keeping up my spirits, stamina, energy, and inspiration. I use music to build energy. Different people use music differently, some use it to stabilize energy, some use it to destress, relax and dissipate excess negative energy. But I use music to build energy, and usually at the hospital they don't allow me to have my iPod. That's another reason the hospital is draining.

Sometimes when I am mentally active, I pace a little bit at night in the house. I find it annoying how my dad thinks this is a sign of mania. We have the ubersleuth Feether Meeke, thinking he knows things about my personal functioning and signs that I am doing well, or signs that I am going down hill. I am not allowed to behave the way I need to, because some things I do according to him indicate low functioning or descent into mania. I scoff at him, him and his low activity level, gimpiness, general bad habits that I am not allowed to comment on. This has not been a problem to my knowledge as of late, just something that has annoyed me in the past. When it is past dark, there is something annoying about going out for a walk.

Other than that, energy usage is effected by something called spiritual planes. At any given moment, you are on one spiritual plane or another. Most people stay at one, some all their lives, other people know how to change spiritual planes. Others still, have special permission granted to them from the other side (they pulled strings before birth) to be on a special spiritual plane, usually so they can gather energy more effectively. Spiritual planes effect everything from your bodies nutrient requirements, to your appetite, to your energy level, to spiritual symptoms. There are spiritual planes where you can see mythical creatures, and spiritual planes where your psychic abilities are heightened. Spiritual planes also effect your moods.

So when you are on the higher spiritual planes, you are better able to draw in energy and harness the powers to increase mental and physical powers.