Last century did not belong to the individual as many have claimed.  Insofar as people became more isolated from community and separated from one another, there was the illusion of individualism, but never before have we held so many collective memories and shared ideas, thanks to the one directional forms of mass-broadcasting of last century.

While not directly compelling people to hold specific beliefs, television and other forms of mass-media have the effect of presenting a range of thought, within which it is normal and acceptable to hold beliefs and opinions, but outside of which it is marginalized.  For example, it is permissible to be either a democrat or republican, because they are both within the range of acceptable choices given to us.  But a libertarian will find no support or validation from the mass-media, and often finds ridicule of his beliefs, while an anarchist often finds open hostility and misrepresentation of his beliefs. (more…)

J.R. at 30 years, taken July 2008

Whenever people find out that my age is over 30 years, they are almost always amazed, telling me that I look a good 10 years younger.  They usually assume that I just have good genes, or eat a healthy diet, and while that is important, there are more important factors that they don’t realize that cost nothing and would do almost everyone some good.  I believe that most people would remain looking young throughout their lives if they were more conscientious about what they do to their bodies, and how they prematurely age. (more…)

There is an evolution in the understanding of freedom from Kant to Hegel and to Marx, which begins as something abstract and immaterial, and moves towards something concrete and embodied. As the understanding of these thinkers advances, the premises on which they are based also advances from something unknowable and essentially imaginary, to something historical and material; and with this advance the logic becomes more solid, no longer requiring the mystification of the first two, but only a proper awareness of what actually is, and a reason which does not try, or need to go beyond that. (more…)

In the Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel sets out to help the student of philosophy undergo a process of dialectical enlightenment, whereby the mind can advance from immediate sense-consciousness to a genuine scientific philosophy, where the division of being and knowing, and of Spirit and its object can be bridged and the “Science of the True” can unfold. “In this element the moments of Spirit now spread themselves out in that form of simplicity which knows its object as its own self. They no longer fall apart into the antithesis of being and knowing, but remain in the simple oneness of knowing.” (Phenomenology of Spirit, p. 22, ¶37)

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Something big is happening.  Perhaps monumental or nation-shaking is more accurate.  I can’t think of a time in history that’s comparable.  And, it’s overwhelming.  It’s hard enough to see beyond all the illusions and lies, let alone give a coherent picture to others, and somehow convince them that you’re not just giving more illusions or lies. 

So where does one begin?  I think that I should not speak as if to the lowest denominator, because they are probably not going to read this anyways.  Yet, they are the ones who need to hear this most.  The rest of us know more or less the problems we are up against.  I could rehash the problems one by one, offering my unique insight on each, but most of us know that there is a financial collapse looming, massive vote fraud, dwindling resources, overpopulation, widespread pollution, and mind-numbing stupidity.  Or, perhaps I could be some mysterious Cassandra, uttering ominous predictions and dire warnings.  But there’s already a bunch of fools already doing that, and honestly, I have no predictive powers beyond my reasoning and logic.  I could talk about solutions, but there is really only one solution, and few want to hear it, and practically none will practice it.   (more…)

Hello visitors from afar. I know you’re out there, watching us and reading our Internet. I also know that one of you will eventually find this. You consider yourselves as having superior intelligence, and at least from a technological perspective, that is true. But intelligence is morally ambiguous, and can be used for many different purposes. Your motives for being here are not entirely clear and lead me to wonder how intelligent you really are.

If you wished to steal our planet and take it for yourselves, you would have already destroyed us, so I can rule that out. Yet, the evidence points towards you conspiring with elite groups of individuals, and this does not point towards benevolence or goodwill. My race has poor perception and is eager to work themselves to death, laboring their whole lives for the illusion of wealth. Their minds are weak, and their wills easily bent. They are eager to follow and listen to anyone who claims “authority.” It would not be hard to enslave and dominate us. The increasingly small percentage of free spirits like myself would be easy to subdue, because you would already have most of humanity working on your side. Our so called leaders are already doing a pretty good job at making us docile and easily manipulatable. Just kill the leaders, or force them to work for you, take control of our propaganda machine (mass media), and there you go. (more…)

I am perplexed when people refer to soul as apart from themselves such as, “I have a soul,” or “My soul will continue after death,” and so on. Why do they speak as if it is something separate, or other than the I? Where do they suppose this soul is, and what is its nature? Are they speaking as the voice of the human body? This way of speaking, or perspective does not seem to reflect reality as it actually is, and indicates that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of it.  Or, perhaps is the language correct, and the soul is in fact other than the I, and we are mistaken to believe they are the same? Perhaps we can dig a little deeper into this mystery.

“The objective psyche is an autonomous psychic entity; any efforts to drill it are only apparently successful and moreover, are harmful to consciousness. It is and remains beyond the reach of subjective, arbitrary control, in a realm where nature and her secrets can be neither improved upon nor perverted, where we can listen but not meddle.” -Carl Jung (more…)

This article is for anyone thinking about joining the military, or for parents or teachers who want to advise young people on the reality of serving in the military. I served in the active duty Air Force for 6 years working on the avionics systems of the F-15s. While there were a lot of great experiences and benefits, there was also a lot that I was not prepared for, and nobody told me about, and there are a few things I wish I knew about before I joined. So that you may be better prepared than I was, I offer this information to you now. (more…)

I am continually surprised at how many otherwise seemingly intelligent people have fallen for the idea of “The Law of Attraction.” In case you’ve not heard of it, the basic idea goes like this: You can manifest anything you want just by thinking about it. Want to be rich, famous or cure some disease? All you have to do is imagine it into your reality, wait awhile, and if you imagined it hard enough, you’ll get what you want. For a more lengthy explanation, I suggest you go read this first. (more…)

“For the present is the same to all, though that which perishes is not the same; and so that which is lost appears to be a mere moment.  For a man cannot lose either the past or the future: for what a man has not, how can anyone take this from him?”

-Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” 

There is much confusion and misinformation shrouding the idea of meditation. As we delve into this subject, it will be important that you don’t just accept what you read. Find out for yourself if what I am saying is true or not. To do this will require attentive observation, rather than thought. You must find out what it means to “Know Thyself.” Not by using words and descriptions or even ideas, but through direct, un filtered perception. The description is not the described, and mistaking the two will only leave you with illusions. (more…)

Modern Spartanism is an idea and a discipline that can help us live better lives. It takes the best elements of the ancient Spartans, and incorporates them into modern living. Anyone can learn and benefit from this philosophy. In addition to providing a solid mental and physical discipline, it can also rid us of many things holding us back from the awakening of intelligence.

Spartans were first and foremost incredibly disciplined warriors with a strong sense of honor, and doing the right thing. A good historical account of them can be found here. I will not focus so much on the historical aspects, as much as how we can bring elements of it into modern life, and what rewards can be gained from it. (more…)

I’m going to go straight to the core of what I see as causing all our problems, and what might be done about it.  Some of you may remember this being posted on my Myspace page a few months ago, but I have updated it and removed all of my posts from that awful site.  For the record, I never wanted anything to do with
Murdoch and his evil media empire.  I blame my weakness on an ex-girlfriend. 

I’m first going to lay out what I see as the two main facets of this problem. The first has to do with objectivism and the increasing tendency to disconnect the personal and the interconnectivity from perception and one’s general outlook; and the second has to do with production, including both an insatiable and unsustainable appetite, and an economy which values profit over life.  I’ll try to give a sense of how long these problems have been with us, and how the latter problem is a direct and unavoidable result of the former.  (more…)