Having The Courage Of One's Convictions

[poliphilo]

I was telling Keith about reincarnation and angels and ETs and so on- and clearly he thought it was nonsense so I was adopting an ironic, jokey tone and then I suddenly heard what I was doing and said, "I don't know why I'm laughing because this is what I actually  believe."

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Hah - I've been there a few times! Insidious, isn't it?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've done it in the blog too. One could argue that it sweetens the pill. On the other hand it's a bit cowardly, I think.

[idahoswede.livejournal.com]

Good for you.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Good! It's so hard to keep up the inner fortitude to say, "I do actually believe this, no matter what you might think."

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm so tired of the old materialist orthodoxy which thinks its modern when it's actually based on a thoroughly outdated 19th century science..

[wyrmwwd.livejournal.com]

This happens to me, too. Maybe it will be better in our NEXT life. ;-)

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

It's hard, sometimes, isn't it? I can sympathize.

I find I've sadly gotten into the habit of simply not talking about such things with almost anyone, unless I get a feel that they are open to it - which is a shame, I think.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

Perhaps our heterodoxy will be the orthodoxy by then.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It is a shame. I tell myself I should be more open. The worst that can happen is people dismiss me as a crank and why should that bother me?

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

Over here, because of the Catholic angle, they're absolutely obsessed, the atheists. It wearies me sometimes, this determination to erase any trace of all that might be numinous or beyond human understanding. I know about science, thank you very much. I am no fool.

Many people of calibre do not believe there is such thing as coincidence.

[matrixmann]

Find it hard to talk about these things when you're a totally non-believer. Because these days a lot of people carry beliefs around about supernatural powers protecting them from above.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The words "baby" and "bathwater" come to mind.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't particularly like the word supernatural because I believe everything is natural- including ghosts and angels and fairies...

[matrixmann]

Well, it was the shortest phrase. It covers everything from angels to deities watching over you - things no-one has seen, no-one has personally met or has any proof for that they exist.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ah, but people have had contact with angels etc. It's just that materialists find the evidence insufficient.

[matrixmann]

I don't know what materialists say, I come from the point of how much belief starts in your head. I see how humans feel the need for an order, for an inner safety what to do and what not, otherwise they go crazy or become suicidal (because then nothing makes sense in their view). I see what trauma and long-term bad experiences can drive humans to various kinds of coping behavior. I see what toxic education by important adults can do to human behavior and human thinking. If I'm ugly, I can also mention what brain chemistry imbalances can cause, be they naturally caused (born with it) or be they caused by external factors (psychosis, schizophrenia, near-death experiences).
Not to forget, consumption of substances which alter perception skills of the brain. Alcohol, drugs, medication, poison.
One can wonder how much you can see stars when there's something in your brain that naturally has not to be there, or if someone puts your survival instincts to the test. Some non-believing warriors even start to pray when the situation deeply speaks against them.