Category Archives: Philosophy

Thought Balloons

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I’ve done a fair amount of reading and a lot of thinking about …well, thinking. And consciousness. According to ChatGPT (PDF) the two are different but related.

One view that feels right to me is that thoughts think themselves. Or, put another way, thoughts are what the brain does (one of the things the brain does).

For the past couple of days I’ve been visualizing thoughts (?) as toy balloons floating into and out of awareness. (Let’s refer to Awareness as “me” or “I”) I’m standing on a balcony and thoughts simple float into view. Unbidden. Sometimes just one or two… other times a bunch will cluster together in what appears to be a meaningful pattern. (see comment below for thoughts as bubbles and refrigerator magnets)

If I ignore the balloons, they simple float up and away. But too often I reach out and grab one (or several) and hold onto them. Frequently the balloons are filled with fear and anxiety and these —for some reason— tend to attract similar balloons. Why would someone hold onto these?

There seems to be no limit to how many balloons I can hang onto at once. Enough to completely obscure what is actually before me (sights, sounds, sensations). And, as it turns out, these thoughts are mostly unnecessary. The body is, and has always been, mostly on autopilot.

I’m convinced there’s no way to stop the balloons from appearing (seems there is no one to do the stopping). Can I resist the urge to reach out and grab a balloon? Can I immediately let it go? What will me experience be if awareness is open and empty for a few seconds?

“It is what it is”

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For some reason the expression popped into my head today and I flashed on The Buddha surrounded by his posse as one of them asked about some mystery of life. To which The Big Guy replied, “It is what it is.”

Where, I wondered, did the expression come from? As I do so often these days, I went to ChatGPT for an answer:

The expression “It is what it is” has roots that are difficult to pin down to a specific origin, but it has been widely used in various forms across different cultures and languages for centuries. It conveys a sense of resignation or acceptance of a situation that cannot be changed.

The phrase started gaining popularity in the U.S. in the mid-20th century, especially in contexts where people faced unchangeable or challenging circumstances. The earliest known printed use of the exact phrase in English comes from a 1949 article in The Nebraska State Journal, where a writer used it in relation to frontier life. The expression implies that sometimes, things simply have to be accepted as they are.

The sentiment behind the phrase can be traced back to Stoic philosophy, particularly the idea of accepting things outside of one’s control with equanimity. Taoism, which you’re drawn to, also resonates with this concept, encouraging harmony with the way things are.

The casual and almost fatalistic nature of “It is what it is” makes it a shorthand for accepting reality without complaint or excessive analysis. Over time, the phrase has become a cultural staple, especially in modern times, when people encounter situations that require them to let go of the desire to control outcomes.

ChatGPT likes to toss in references to previous exchanges but she’s right about the Taosim connection.

Atheists and anti-theists

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The distinction between atheist and anti-theist lies in their attitudes toward belief in God or gods.

Atheist. An atheist is someone who simply does not believe in the existence of a God or gods. Atheism is about a lack of belief, and it can range from passive non-belief to active disbelief, but it does not necessarily imply opposition to religion itself or to religious beliefs.

Anti-theist. An anti-theist, on the other hand, goes a step further. In addition to not believing in God or gods, an anti-theist actively opposes religion and religious belief. This stance often arises from the view that religion is harmful or detrimental to individuals or society. Anti-theists may be outspoken critics of religious institutions and practices, viewing them as misleading or morally problematic.

So, while all anti-theists are atheists, not all atheists are anti-theists.

Answer from ChatGPT

“awareness by the mind of itself and the world”

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I don’t recall precisely when or how I became interested in consciousness. I’ve read a few (26) books on the topic and gave it some space here (104 posts). The reading has been a mix of scientific and spiritual (for lack of a better term). The concept showed up in a lot of my science fiction reading as well. And we’ll be hearing the term –however one defines it–  more often in the next few years.

I like the idea that nobody really knows what the fuck it is or where it comes from. Thankfully, that won’t change.

What if everything is conscious?

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That’s the headline of a pretty long article by Sigal Samuel at Vox. I’ve done some reading about consciousness and posted here with some frequency. The idea that everything is conscious has been around a long time. It’s called panpsychism.

Panpsychism, the view that consciousness or mind is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality, has a long and rich history in philosophy. From the musings of the ancient Greeks to contemporary debates in philosophy of mind, panpsychism has captured the imagination of a diverse range of thinkers. Luminaries such as Plato, Spinoza, Leibniz, William James, and Alfred North Whitehead have all explored panpsychist ideas, and in recent years the theory has seen a resurgence of interest among philosophers like David Chalmers, Galen Strawson, and Philip Goff. (Perplexity)

Consciousness shows up in most of my reading on quantum theory. (My incomplete reading list) I, for one, hope “the hard problem of consciousness” is never solved.

The Death Business

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“Religions are in the death business: preparing people for death, pretending to send them off after they’ve died, making believe they know what happens afterward, and explaining to the dead person’s relatives where they think their loved one might be now. Without death most religions don’t have a whole lot to live for.”

— Sit Down and Shut Up (Brad Warner)

More from Brad Warner here, here and here.

One good habit

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habit (noun) – a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up

I don’t have a lot of bad habits these days. Don’t smoke or do drugs, drink (beer) in moderation… but when the idea for this post occurred to me, I was thinking of good habits. Things I do with some consistency without having to give them a lot of thought. Consistency being the operative word. If you don’t count brushing my teeth, I really only have one good habit: meditation.

There are almost as many forms of mediation as there are meditators. For me it’s the time I spend each day practicing paying attention. (I’ll skip the long riff on how continuously lost we are in thought we all are.)

2024 will be the 10th consecutive year of tracking my daily meditation. I think I was practicing for five years or so before I began logging my time on the cushion on November 30, 2014. I ran up a string of 371 days before missing a day (pneumonia). I managed 271 consecutive days before missing again (out of town attending the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation.) I have not missed a day since. 2,101 consecutive days (5.7 years). Total days since I started logging my sessions, 3,317 days.

I usually sit for 30 minutes. If it’s almost bedtime I might do a 15 minute session and every once in while I set for 45 minutes or an hour. In terms of perceived time, the longer sessions do not seem much longer. But 30 minutes is the sweet spot for me. My one good habit.