cowardice in thought

[Bodhisattva]

how big of a role do you think cowardice plays in 'thinking'

we are overwhelmingly ignorant, we have limited mental faculties, we have limited capabilities with the faculties we do have, as fundamental laws of numbers, the number of neurons the number of 'things' not neurons, that enormous disconnect

obviously!... but how large of a role does being scared and afraid of pain play within what we CAN see..

how far does the basis of reward and punishment, seep into the minds of otherwise highly intelligent people, people capable of crunching the figures, people capable of grinding the grain into white-dust, and even building grand things out of legos or the like, or other abilities, less modern perhaps

the instincts of self-preservation, the many many other instincts

the conditions of vulnerability that an individual feels and works too avoid or build-support-for, desires to fit-in, to be-liked, to be-loved, to be re-assured in your view by the corresponding views of others... and above all that the fear of seeing things in a way that brings nothing but torment and lamentation day in and day out

their failure to even consider in their invisible calculations, the terribly unpleasant painful uncomfortable and depressing possibilities, that that is perhaps the truth, that perhaps the truth, the actual truth of something, insofar as it can be discerned with our human faculties, is an obvious reason to suffer terribly day in and out

a commitment to 'enjoy' invades the commitment to understanding and the commitment to truth and realization of how things 'seem'.

does anyone really have the courage for a sincere pursuit of truth as best they can see?

or are small and great minds alike, plagued, with a disinterest in truth, on account of their interest in happiness

perhaps people only succeed when they limit their focus to a extremely particular area, they can find courage for their particular focus.

perhaps though, they can only find homestead in fields where the reality isn't harsh as per taste, leaving the highly emotional highly problematic areas, untouched by courage.

whatcha think about fear effecting rationalization??

[Bodhisattva]

in addition i want to pose to consideration what the rev posed in my passive-aggressive thread with excessive bear bait and wolf stink, the 'genious' thread

confidence in intelligence has a hard to pin-point foundation, link it too your institutional learning, my hands are too clean for that

explain your confidence in thought, can you face any harsh idea head on, you react to harsh possibilities like a combatant?, how can we even mix such failure into our sucess, our definitions thereof

the only thing that gives me confidence is that my thoughts bring me great sufferring, and that i despise everyone to some extent, even those who hypothetically agree with me on all accounts, what does that say about me, nothing sound or admirable i suspect, their is clearly cowardice in my mode of operation, i am not afraid of unpleasent thoughts, but i am afraid of pleasant inclinations

i don't know what to do, im not lost, ill discover a better braver way, again and again i suspect, overcoming one fault only to beget a new error for the sake of comfort

is this even something to be surpassed? am i going about it all wrong? like 'climbing' to the moon

is the lies we try to beleive for comfort, not a bad thing, are they the foundation of progress itself? progress must decide upon some direction, at every step, it has a direction

should this direction, be whatever the greatest number decides??

im disillusioned and upset by the whole thing

under what terms have you found your foot-path, tired trails? mucky mud, the endless snow of intellectuals that you feverishly prsure at-last only to goto sleep upon.

[Canuck Wisdom]

I don't have much to say right now, but I am more afraid than I want to be. Of a lot of things. One or two come to mind. Mostly loneliness, lack of love. Inability to create the loving relationships I desire.

[SweetSativa]

A pretty good topic (pretty multi-faceted... ehem... is that the right word? ) ! Sometimes confidence in knowledge can lead one away from the truth ("never confuse science with truth").
There are so many factors influencing confidence... 'institutional' learning (which may or may not be correct), concept of self, punishments and rewards in the past, fear of being wrong, being exposed, being vulnerable, being less.


I like Bashar's thoughts on fear. Bashar says that fear of things doesn't stop you from doing anything... only the fear of being afraid stops you. This is part of what he has to say about fear:

How FEAR can Serve You (by bashar)

Fear means that you believe, that a scenario that you very much do not want to happen, is very likely to happen!

So fear lets you know that you are believing in a reality that you do not prefer. So, fear can serve you, by being an "indicator", or an "alarm", that lets you know that "Hey, I'm believing in a reality that is not at all aligned with my Being!"

Once you become aware of this, you can choose to change your belief, so such frightening scenarios will no longer pop up in your reality.

#1. Get in touch with the Belief that is causing this fear.
Ask yourself: "What would I have to believe, in order to end up being afraid of this right now?"

#2. Once you get in touch with the Belief that is generating this fear, then
Acknowledge that this is your current Believe. "Own" it. (You can not change what you do not own.)

#3. Ask yourself: "What Belief would I like to REPLACE this Belief with?"

#4. Once you decide what your new preferred Belief is, accept it. Adopt it. Breath it in. TRUST that this new Belief is now active and functioning in your Being. (You don't need to "get rid of" the old Belief. You only need to replace it with your preferred Belief.)
Get into the Mind-Set of the new Belief.
Get into the Emotional-Feeling State of the new Belief.
Get into the Body-Language and Actions of the new Belief.

[ProfessorMurder]

does anyone really have the courage for a sincere pursuit of truth as best they can see?

or are small and great minds alike, plagued, with a disinterest in truth, on account of their interest in happiness

perhaps people only succeed when they limit their focus to a extremely particular area, they can find courage for their particular focus.

perhaps though, they can only find homestead in fields where the reality isn't harsh as per taste, leaving the highly emotional highly problematic areas, untouched by courage.

I don't know what you're talking about?

[John F. Kerry]

these deeply philosophical questions I often find, are more about the person asking them's individual views and experiences rather than about reaching some kind of higher truth.

the only higher truth ive found is along the lines of Socrates:

I know that I dont know anything, which is more than most people know, as most people think they know a lot, and refuse to question why it is they think they know it in the first place. I , by knowing that I dont know anything, know in fact more than most people who mistakenly believe they know something "true".

[zerodown]

Considering Fear is what they use to control us(and tax what they use to keep us poor) I'd say cowardice plays a major role, we are too scared to fight for our rights anymore...

[Bodhisattva]

[John F. Kerry]

^ basically