Do you think sociopaths and psychopaths can't really help their actions since they didn't really ...

JeffMesser comments on Aug 14, 2019:

they are completely helpless in the face of it.

What would you do?

JeffMesser comments on Aug 15, 2019:

that's a tough dilemma. lots of different advice. let me offer this: She's going to be inundated with christian kaka for years. From all sides. You need to teach her how to weed out the crap. I'd start reading her the koans of buddhism and the fables of other beliefs. The quick little stories like the scorpion and the frog. Teaching her how to pull heuristic concepts from these tales while also keeping in mind that they are fiction. At the end of each story "was the scorpion real?" and "was the frog real?" Point out how we make animals talk and people have tremendous powers in these stories to stress an issue. The point is you need to give her a tool to decipher their bullshit without confusion. That tool, those tools, must subsume their stories and brainwashing efforts. So after the fables start telling her the true history of man with history and archaeology and sociology. You want to counter their mythos with science and eventually let her reach the conclusion of religion's true origin as a tool on her own. That's how you beat them. You can't just let them grind it into her because they have a huge advantage in numbers, but not in depth. YOU own depth and truth in science so use that - while always taking the high road regarding religion as a useful tool when taken properly. Like medicine. DOn't try to push one religion or no religion. You have to let her make that decision on her own. But give her the tools to make religion transparent so she has a chance to use her own judgment vice being brainwashed by the evangelicals.

Any Incense Users Out There?

JeffMesser comments on Aug 15, 2019:

I exclusively burn Satva Golden Era.

Turned 58 years old on the 12th of August and for sometime been pondering this whole life thing.

JeffMesser comments on Aug 15, 2019:

it's capitalism man. capitalism is flawed. socialism is likewise flawed. both for human reasons. so you work a balance going back and forth while operating - but if one side gets too powerful then the whole apparatus shudders and shakes and blows up. people have to be smart enough to see the balance ... but the powers that be are riding it into the ground to their favor violating this balance and all hell's breaking loose.

Do you get bothered by people saying “have a blessed day”

JeffMesser comments on Aug 16, 2019:

I used to before I got over my anti-theist anger. now I just say "thank you".

I am a retired educator who taught at the high school and junior high levels, was a college ...

JeffMesser comments on Aug 16, 2019:

my name is jeff messer and I endorse this message.

Spicy chipotle turkey meatloaf.

JeffMesser comments on Aug 17, 2019:

now why would we want to rob people of the chance to roast those turkey breasts in the proper manner and serve them with giblet gravy and smashed taters and stuffing and cranberry sauce?? Thats ludicrous. Would you use wagyu beef in your ground beef sausage? Thats just crazy talk right there.

How do you answer, "I want to know more about you"?

JeffMesser comments on Aug 18, 2019:

well, do something interesting in your life and show it off when you go out with people. that way you're already doing something and you have someone to brag at about it. hell, if they gave me a chance I could go on for hours and hours about some really interesting shit (at least to me) that I've been studying and reading and writing the last 10-12 years. don't look at it as a downer. geez. look at it as an opportunity to talk up the one thing you probably know better than anyone else in the world. take that mic and spotlight and belt it out.

What is the philosophy behind the points scheme on this site?

JeffMesser comments on Aug 19, 2019:

to give you a little dopamine surge as a reward and coax you into posting more.

What would you do if an acquaintance invited you to get coffee because they said that they want to ...

JeffMesser comments on Aug 19, 2019:

thank them for their concern and tell them you feel different than they do. dont give up on them until you see how they respond. I have some friends who are fine with me being hindu and others are perplexed. Being dismissive either way isn't conducive to anything.

Why would an omnipotent and an all-knowing deity use a book to communicate to his followers despite ...

JeffMesser comments on Aug 21, 2019:

he didnt. each community had a little set of rules and those merged with those from other communities and then were eventually committed to writing and became books.

If you don’t know what the meaning of your life is, make me a sandwich because then at least ...

JeffMesser comments on Aug 23, 2019:

you need to read Yuval Harari's "Sapiens".

[youtu.be] Clarence Brown plays fiddle and sings a country song, with Roy Clark.

JeffMesser comments on Aug 25, 2019:

very nice.

[youtu.be] Clarence Brown plays fiddle and sings a country song, with Roy Clark.

JeffMesser comments on Aug 25, 2019:

oh yeah, his son lives on the other side of town too. here in OKC.

I felt safe to share this here.

JeffMesser comments on Aug 30, 2019:

jagat mitthya brahman satyam ayam brahmasmi

What did Satan do anyway?

JeffMesser comments on Aug 30, 2019:

no such thing as satan. the only god that exists is the personification of the universe.

A quote from Charles Sanders Peirce, said to be America’s greatest philosopher, but whose name ...

JeffMesser comments on Aug 30, 2019:

certainly seems to support advaita vedanta or even biocentrism. welcome to the hindu world william!

Why People Hate Religion, NY Times. [google.com]

JeffMesser comments on Aug 31, 2019:

meh, costs me money to read that. I already know why I hate religion. cause the people's a bunch of pricks.

Damn, here we go again.

JeffMesser comments on Aug 31, 2019:

dumbasses with guns. I grew up in Odessa. Giving those idiots more guns is most definitely NOT the answer.

ELIZABETH WARREN IS RISING IN VOTER INTEREST IN HER CANDIDACY It is being reported that ...

JeffMesser comments on Sep 18, 2019:

Listening to them all I have always found Warren to be the most competent. My complaint was her "electability". I have said all along that if she makes it back to the lead after trump beats her up with his little slams then she deserves the democratic nod - and I stick to that. Personally I'd like to elect Mayor Pete, but Warren is more experienced than Pete.

Say hi to my new rabbit, Misty! Isn’t he the cutest? 🥰

JeffMesser comments on Sep 21, 2019:

I love bunnies!!

I find that when I meditate life becomes clearer and easier to navigate.

JeffMesser comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Really? and where pray tell did that amazing exercise come from?

religions are to control the world.

JeffMesser comments on Sep 23, 2019:

well, not really. read "Sapiens" by Yuval Harari

(Austin, TX area) I do not own a TV, and enjoy college basketball.

JeffMesser comments on Sep 24, 2019:

get a TV

“I don’t know who put all of this in motion.

JeffMesser comments on Sep 28, 2019:

that was a good article thanks for posting that Bill!!

Am I the only one who wants to punch people in the face when they say, “I live in a spiritual ...

JeffMesser comments on Oct 1, 2019:

well ... maybe I did until I reached my 30's. That's a few years after my pre-frontal cortex actually controlled my thoughts vice the limbic systems' emotionality. Humans have a tendency to place anything unknown in the realms of the mystical or spiritual. So when confronted with the unknown they are merely saying that they tend towards optimism vice pessimism. Having faith in the natural yin and yang of the universe is just an issue of nature built from experience. It's scientific actually. Ask the vedantists and the upanishads.

Belief is a mind-killer.

JeffMesser comments on Oct 7, 2019:

you think you know what's going on? do you really want to know the truth?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d4ugppcRUE

Three points to go for level eight and this post should do it. :-)

JeffMesser comments on Oct 11, 2019:

congratulations!!!

EDIT: Please keep in mind this is relative to a debate group/consortium I belong to comprised of ...

JeffMesser comments on Oct 14, 2019:

you know ... I think it's rude to try to make someone an atheist. I wish I could live in blissful ignorance. I just can't.

What do you guys think about arranged marriage vs love marriage?

JeffMesser comments on Oct 16, 2019:

coming from the US it sounds archaic and fascist. but in SE Asia it works for many and has for a very long time.

Trying to read the Bible the whole way through now.... very hilarious book!

JeffMesser comments on Oct 17, 2019:

why? read the upanishads instead.

What was that he was saying about not being able to have an electromagnetic field without photons?

JeffMesser comments on Oct 17, 2019:

I found him completely daft until the graviton commentary started. Up to that point all his inane babbling was bullshit. Once he got into gravitons they started making some good points. The old classical theories are based in a 3D world ... not one recalculated mentally for "space-time". Space-time is reality now plus in the future all wrapped in a ball and divided by slivers of individual experience. As Dyson remarks individual temperature is a measurement only relevant in a given moment in space-time. In total, with all space-time together the energy balance would be zero. But in individual slivers it may be high or low. So as a measurement temperature means nothing in quantum terms. Dyson proposes that the old theories describe gravity in a 3D world and it may not be an issue at all in a quantum world. Much like temperature gravity is a singular measurement in a sliver of space-time calculating spatial distortion due to an object's mass. Over all time that will be zero as well. I am thinking this is because that distortion is actually our big bang explosion trying to propel us forward to the front of the blast wave like other explosions. Time is the lag caused by that spatial distortion felt in individual slivers as gravity. Sounds feasible.

How come some people on this site talk about worshipping the devil.

JeffMesser comments on Oct 25, 2019:

attention

Who said blondes are dumb....

JeffMesser comments on Oct 26, 2019:

a brunette

A happy Diwali to any Hindus on this site.

JeffMesser comments on Oct 26, 2019:

thank you so much. it is entirely possible to be a secular practitioner of sanatana dharma. it's a bitch figuring out how to practice karma yajna though. namaskar.

Requesting thoughts re Yuval Noah Harari books

JeffMesser comments on Oct 30, 2019:

I recommend Sapiens to all who will listen

Halloween trivia....

JeffMesser comments on Oct 30, 2019:

Cushing, Karloff, Price, and Lorre?

Are you a dog or a cat?

JeffMesser comments on Oct 31, 2019:

Cats are magnificent hunters while dogs are the best of friends. Advantages to both. But ... personally ... I'd prefer to be a quokka!

As an atheist how do you respond to “i’ll pray for you.”?, I normally just smile and nod.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 1, 2019:

"thanks ... we can all use all the help we can get"

Do you consider Monty Phython The Life of Brian to be a Christmas movie?

JeffMesser comments on Nov 1, 2019:

no, Die Hard is a christmas movie.

Here's something interesting.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 3, 2019:

check out Yuval Harari's "Sapiens"

“ God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern ...

JeffMesser comments on Nov 5, 2019:

so much of the buy-bull idiocy could have been avoided had the christians been smart enough to say from the start that the stories were fables from which to learn lessons.

The internet has contributed significantly to the creation of a “Global Village.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 6, 2019:

the biggest idiot is in the white house

It is interesting the number of people on here commenting on how they are surrounded where they live...

JeffMesser comments on Nov 8, 2019:

no no no .. I know that sounds comforting and all ... but we need to learn to congregate "amongst dem english John Book". Find the similarities and embrace those things.

I don't think there is evidence of conscious awareness outside of a developed brain.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 10, 2019:

think of awareness as the light of day. it's actually just a field, but we base our entire internal construct on visualizing the reality around us so the light of day is a good example and apt. anyway ... each neuron emits a spot of light as it fires. each spot of light is a moment of awareness, no matter how slight. the depth and clarity of that awareness if based on how many such spots of light we cause and the internal knowledge we have to apply it. don't think of learning as adding knowledge. think of it as cleaning off the windshield of your car as you're trying to drive. neurons firing makes your light brighter. we start off in a completely pitch black cave and each neuron firing is a slight glow of awareness like a tiny candle in that darkness. awareness if just pure knowledge. walk out in the middle of your front yard on a clear day and look around you. this is what you know. this is your little globe of awareness. your globe gets bigger and more clear (less snowy) as you gain knowledge and have more light (neurons firing). we aren't "just creatures of this body waiting to die". far from it. we are like helium-filled balloons tied to the ground yearning to bust free and explode into total awareness. but we're limited by this skin and these limited perceptions. once we rid ourselves of this mass then we are everywhere at once. bereft of mass light goes everywhere. that's why the speed of light is constant no matter how fast we are moving relative to it. it is not bound by time because it has no mass (Einstein) thus when it propagates it fills to entire container (quantum existence)instantaneously like a gas. the 186,000 mps is OUR perceptual limitation. our perceptual constant. light is just instantaneous. and awareness is the same. as for your "proof". much like gravity in quantum space you can't measure awareness in newtonian space. for our "measurements" we stop a sliver in time ... but awareness doesn't exist in time. it's based on the passage of time in total. it's like in calculus when you find a delta. it's the accumulation of light from moment to moment and in total - not an individual sliver. it has no mass so you can't measure it. we measure light in ergs which is a unit of work (ergs over a distance or over a period). in a still instant it has no value. same with awareness. doesn't matter really. we're all going to the same "place" no matter what you believe. once this body passes we become pure awareness again.

That look...

JeffMesser comments on Nov 11, 2019:

I think it should be keanu.

Can philosophy be compatible with science??

JeffMesser comments on Nov 12, 2019:

sure

He'll figure it out eventually.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 13, 2019:

I'd eat what he caught in that grass before anything he caught out of that water

The very early dawn of perhaps one of the world great thought systems, and a beautiful couple of ...

JeffMesser comments on Nov 14, 2019:

We already view the buddha as the ninth avatar of vishnu so the tie between buddhism and sanatan dharma old hat. In many academic circles Buddhism, Jainism and a couple of others are said to comprise the "nastika" theology of Hinduism (opposed to parts of the vedas) while others form the "astika" (in accord with the vedas). Buddha was also knowledgeable of the vedas, he just didn't reach the same views on the mandukya upanishad in his universal narrative. It's a beautiful piece for sure - but not because of any Hindustan insight. Followers of vedantic beliefs knew this already.

The religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their ...

JeffMesser comments on Nov 15, 2019:

are you still an angry atheist? don't let them get in your head. they're of weak minds.

Let's discuss reincarnation.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 19, 2019:

That one was and is still a hard concept for me to grasp and accept as a "hindu". Suspend all your disbelief for a moment and hear me out ... I can take you to the edge of it and you can sit at the precipice as I do in contemplation. The world that you and I think is around us really isn't reality. It's actually the construct in our minds composed of the signals our senses send to it and the prior knowledge it has within. That's fact. There's no such thing as "brown". There is light that reflects certain vibrations off of a particular material and our minds recognize as "brown". This is the same for all senses: sight, touch (tactile sensations creating signals), hearing (air vibrations vibrating little hairs), taste (chemical reactions creating signals), and smell (molecule shapes creating signals). The actual signal that is sent occurs in our brains as electromagnetic wave or particle propagation. Thus every signal is based on potential. Some at physical point of contact and some at a distance. But even at a distance it starts as potential. And that potential has the same properties as light. No mass thus not affected by time and space. That potential arrives instantaneously - but as we construct it in our minds it appears as 186,000 miles/sec. Always. No matter what our relative speed to it. That's because it's already here. Everywhere it is going to be instantaneously. That's Einstein. As awareness we "trip the switch" on the EM propagation if we have the right receptors. Then in our minds the signal transfer happens as work units. That is awareness. It converts potential to a signal that the mind uses to construct reality. It also guides this body (through free will) into other fields of signals that last for a time beyond the moment. This is where the reincarnation stuff begins to fall in for those who believe in Sanatan dharma and the vedas. According to their beliefs awareness is actually the field of space or substratum across which those signals "float". Free will guides us through it and we are subject to the signals our free will makes us encounter - be they light from a distant sun or a smell or a lifestyle wrapped up in discord. All of those signals are, as EM components, vibrations. At different frequencies. At different wavelengths. At different intensities. Much like harmonious octaves some frequencies "get along" and some are discordant. The theory goes that the life we lead carries some discordant vibrations that keep awareness in a clump around them to be a pocket of unique existence until those waves of vibrations cease. Like air turbulence during a flight. Only by ridding ones' self of such discord may rebirth be avoided and the blissful existence of pure awareness be enjoyed. This is where they tie in ...

And there’s nothing wrong with this.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 20, 2019:

islam is just a bad religion.

Physicists Have Finally Seen Traces of a Long-Sought Particle.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 23, 2019:

that was fascinating. thank you!

Maybe I should have been an actor . . .

JeffMesser comments on Nov 25, 2019:

is your name Owen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbgOACJpZg0

What is your most honest opinion about Thanksgiving and Christmas how do you actually feel about ...

JeffMesser comments on Nov 26, 2019:

nice family memories

Has someone ever told you to give your problems to god?

JeffMesser comments on Nov 26, 2019:

no. but I dont hang out with the god-loving.

THE PRAYER OF ST.

JeffMesser comments on Nov 28, 2019:

it has taken me years to get rid of the vestiges of christianity - and even then some hangers-on still exist. like forgiveness. I had no idea that forgiveness was a relatively minor issue in other cultures. only in christian cultures does it dominate. most of the world seems to subscribe to the old hammurabai (sic?) code of eye for an eye. I call it that because it predates both bible and talmud/tora I believe.

Have you seen this before? Tumbleweed snowman? [kob.com]

JeffMesser comments on Dec 2, 2019:

that's pretty common fare for NM and west Texas. I grew up in Odessa and we made all things christmas from tumbleweeds. reindeer, xmas trees, nativity scenes ... seen it all. there are so many around you have to do something with them.

Too bad christians always ask “WWJD” but don’t care about the actual answer.

JeffMesser comments on Dec 2, 2019:

i think there exists the political christians and the so-called actual christians. neither of them really act like christ but I know some good people in the latter group. the former contains all the evangelicals and they are dumbasses.

Gods are fragile things....

JeffMesser comments on Dec 4, 2019:

people are fragile. gods are a myth.

The cutting edge of Human Evolution is the integration of science and religion.

JeffMesser comments on Dec 5, 2019:

I'm convinced that we seek a narrative that explains the world around us to our satisfaction. When it is challenged then we explore. The more we learn, the more it is challenged. Some people just stay ignorant.

I’m just wondering how others judge success?

JeffMesser comments on Dec 5, 2019:

I've never been very material either. I prefer the simple pleasures of the moment. My measure for success is how many people you have positively affected.

I just came across this. Too good not to share. Totally something I'd do..... [dangerousminds.net]

JeffMesser comments on Dec 7, 2019:

I love Canadians! Well, most of them.

Who has been counting 29 years since Desert Shield Desert Storm?

JeffMesser comments on Dec 10, 2019:

I was in on that. But being in the navy made significantly less scary. I was stationed onboard the Ike (CVN-69) on leave in Rome. Iraq invaded Kuwait and they "emergency recalled" us and we took our battlegroup through the Suez canal. When we got back to the states I transferred to the Ark (CGN-41) and I went right back to the Persian Gulf and the IO right in the midst of all the burning petroleum. I was actually outside Clark AFB (?) in the Philipines when Mt. Pinatubo exploded also. The Ark was moored and had launches out for ship's business when it erupted. It was nightmare after nightmare that year. But I wasn't in battle.

I am bemused that people would talk so much about religion, mostly Christianity, on here.

JeffMesser comments on Dec 19, 2019:

oh, don't be too mean. I am sometimes too. This is just where newbie soloists stretch their new legs. They're still not weaned completely.

Ghosts: Rational, legitimate study says 85% of gay people are possessed

JeffMesser comments on Dec 22, 2019:

oh, there's a lot more to it than this but yeah it IS kind of funny. I've spent the last 10 years or so "deciphering" the primary upanishads and the 4 vedas from which they sprang. The upanishads are like gems of philosophical wisdom derived from earlier portions of the associated veda that deal primarily with actions and stories. Kinda like if the christian bible has a separate chapter at the end that tried to explain all the philosophical concepts addressed within the rest of the book. I had to go BACK to those upanishads (written thousands of years ago) because the more current texts that described the heuristic concepts all suffer from the same type of errors you see in this "study". I had to go back to sanskrit and read/interpret it myself instead of using modern translations. The reason being that those translations and views are based on the same wacky views of "science" as used by the study cited here. It is the physical science understanding of the Hindus and compared to western science it is very outdated in several respects. They even use the daily practice pacamaharajna analysis of karma yoga which is the entire rationale behind the Hindu view. Unfortunately the rest of their analysis is based on a complete misunderstanding of rebirth. So they have a skewed view of a skewed view. The original analysis for sattvik karma was merely a reference to the daily actions one must take to counter negative karma from influencing rebirth. It was all pure speculation derived back in like 800 AD by the author of the Vivakachudamani (believed to be Adi Shankara). Today (in the west) we base our science on understanding the processes. Back then they organized and explained by cause and effect. Thus their explanations are often WAYYYY off (usually actually), but they DO have better and older cause and effect relationships to examine. You have to do your own "discrimination" to reveal the truth from the chaff. Which is, of course, the entire purpose of the Vivakachudamani ... discriminating between the real and the illusory. Here is the "analysis" from the original study. It's not really about ghosts. But you can take from it what you wish. The only people who believe rubbish like this are those without an education. Hindus are not like christians in that regard - we tend to update our knowledge and beliefs. Both the Buddha as well as the Mahabharata persist that beliefs and views must update as man grows. As the 9th avatar of Vishnu this ties the Buddhist views to Sanatan dharma (modern "Hinduism") and all vedic beliefs. I filter these things out to discover the ancient message intended.

In trying not to insult religionists an article in a previous post 'q:441073' "Here’s the only ...

JeffMesser comments on Dec 24, 2019:

well, your science-type answer didnt actually work in this case. prayer is the christian interpretation of meditation and if done methodically it can actually change ones' thoughts. so there's a zen quality to it that your science narrative neglects to encompass.

I get so angry this time of year.

JeffMesser comments on Dec 25, 2019:

meh ... christian holidays encompass many old pagan rituals as well as modern cultural references such that you really can't fix them to a single religion or belief in many cases. I just consider them opportunities for love and good will. We can always use some of that.

THINK OF YOURSELF IN THE THIRD PERSON “.

JeffMesser comments on Dec 26, 2019:

interesting. today I was contemplating the fact that I order my body around like a servant so I should probably do nice things for it too. good points here. thx for sharing it!!

Proposed VA Benefit Cut Angers Elderly, Disabled Vets | Military.com

JeffMesser comments on Dec 30, 2019:

If I can employ myself then I don't expect to receive that 100% benefit. As a licensed, practicing attorney that means I can either get my ass down to the courthouse and chase an ambulance or two ... or I can live on the amount I get at my current rating of 80% and "employable" (even if self). In anticipation of this I have learned to live on the 80% for when my health prevents me from practice at the courthouse. It doesn't appear to me that this would affect my particular situation, but only because I am lucky. I have no overhead, no costs, and it's just me and my little dog. I don't expect everyone to live as simply as I choose to do. But I do find that they have a responsibility to assist themselves when and where they can. I see a lot of guys jobbing the system when they could be saving money. I say nothing. So while I don't agree with cutting the benefit in this manner, I also don't consider it sacrosanct. Most vets I know live frugal, simple lives and struggle to help themselves as much as they can. But not all of them. There still exists some ethics to the equation.

I'm turning 28 in July and still get asked "Are you old enough to be in here?

JeffMesser comments on Jan 5, 2020:

the shoes I am wearing are older than you

My friend came over on Sunday again, the one who shows up unannounced and always prays kneeling down...

JeffMesser comments on Jan 7, 2020:

she sounds crazy as a sh!thouse rat.

Middle ground? Thats for pussies.

JeffMesser comments on Jan 7, 2020:

it's well past time to stop the killings. ours and theirs. we need to leave others the hell alone and leave them to their autonomy. to do this we need to maintain petro independence which will eventually require better alternative resources. so it is vital that we ween ourselves from middle eastern affairs and dependence. not our business.

-23 F in Wasilla, Alaska on Tuesday... so I thought I would share this poem:

JeffMesser comments on Jan 7, 2020:

-23 degrees is why we invented UHAULS. That way we can MOVE AWAY from such horrid places!!!

Advice To Younger Self

JeffMesser comments on Jan 11, 2020:

have more sex

Depressed Agnostics?

JeffMesser comments on Jan 15, 2020:

meh, I wouldnt doubt it. security is a strong motivator ... ask Maslow.

Are we all really Free thinkers?

JeffMesser comments on Jan 17, 2020:

if you dont examine both sides of it then you're delusional. there is most certainly a benefit to be had with just blind ignorance and faith. I still have hope in the unknown ... but many skeptics are completely nihilistic. So there's a serious catch-22 to the intelligence route - which was the whole point of the Matrix.

As a Christian, I was reassured by the thought of an after life.

JeffMesser comments on Jan 18, 2020:

having faith is a good thing. you just need to have faith in something with possibility! in life I have faith in yin and yang. the 2 sides of the cycle all things go through. good is always followed by bad with good coming around the corner and I have faith in that when planning my life or encountering bad. The universal consciousness idea has legs and potential support in theoretical physics. we cannot explain it all yet but I have FAITH that we will. this is my security.

Goodbye, old job and hello new!!

JeffMesser comments on Jan 19, 2020:

I dont miss working. you have my sympathies!

People say I shouldn't wear this shirt

JeffMesser comments on Jan 25, 2020:

my life took a dramatic turn for the better when I gave up giving a damn what people thought of me. but, that said, why antagonize them? religion and all those other artificial groups we create for identification are just tools. I just steer clear of them and they me.

I grew up in the Bible Belt in a non-religious home.

JeffMesser comments on Jan 25, 2020:

it's no less than what everyone expects here in OKC, Ok where we have a baptist church every 2 blocks (and that's really not even an exaggeration). I fought over and with it all for years. Now I just kinda look down on them as a lesser evolved group of humans.

[pewresearch.

JeffMesser comments on Jan 27, 2020:

oh PEWresearch. I went to PEEWresearch and it was all farts and gross stuff.

Yesterday I was at the worst funeral ever.

JeffMesser comments on Feb 2, 2020:

funerals are for the living ... not the dead. the dead dont care.

Catholic Priest criticised for Facebook post advising Trump detractors to jump off a skyscraper | ...

JeffMesser comments on Feb 2, 2020:

it's 3 yrs old man

Yup remember that

JeffMesser comments on Feb 4, 2020:

we dont need to see that kung fu grip

I feel being raised heavily Christian made me afraid of intimacy. Anyone relate? : atheism

JeffMesser comments on Feb 11, 2020:

don't try dieting. it's bad habits that got you there so work on the habits instead of the weight.

When I first heard Bart Ehrman I was impressed by his scholarship, and he teaches at a Christian ...

JeffMesser comments on Feb 11, 2020:

his views are essentially the same as my own. Is there a higher power? I dont know. Is there a deity or god of the bible or some other book who is involved on earth and in man's affairs? no. The difference is he doesn't believe in anything after this form and I do. Instead of not having faith I choose to have faith in the universe to be cyclical.

We die. Why do all religions give an out?

JeffMesser comments on Feb 12, 2020:

because awareness exists aside from the body and we don't know if it "dies" or not.

I discover more and more that in any group of people, there's a tendency for it to fragment.

JeffMesser comments on Feb 13, 2020:

try "Sapiens" by Yuval Harari.

Incredibly, it seems to be so... There are Atheists who fear hell! [patheos.com]

JeffMesser comments on Feb 13, 2020:

many atheists and agnostics have yet to adopt a new narrative so their mind still compares things to their old one. thats why it's important not to stop at this phase. it leads to ill will. you need a new narrative.

I have been a member on this site now for nearly two years and I have come to an interesting ...

JeffMesser comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Sorry ... while I sympathize with your plight I have to agree with the view of exculpatory lover. Step back, remove your emotionality, and view it from an objective viewpoint. As well read as you are and believe you are you still are neglecting to address the various issues with epistemology. This is NOT an attack on you. Many suffer the same blindspot. You have got to open up and put away your bias.

It amazes me, the deep indoctrination self- indoctrination I had growing up.

JeffMesser comments on Feb 18, 2020:

zealots can accomplish things that normal, "unzealoted" people tend not to do.

I do NOT believe in God, demons, ,angels, ghosts, spirits, souls, horoscopes, astrology, third eyes,...

JeffMesser comments on Feb 18, 2020:

you think you're original? you think you're the only one who has confronted this phase?? please. just don't get stuck here or you'll be just as unhappy and lost as these other poor schmucks who can't seem to formulate a narrative that makes sense and withstands scrutiny. namaste

Who has been the most influential Atheist/Agnostic famous person for you?

JeffMesser comments on Feb 23, 2020:

read Yuval Harari's "Sapiens"

Hello coming from a catholic background,how do you fill or erase the psycological void of God ...

JeffMesser comments on Feb 24, 2020:

Let me offer a suggestion ... thoroughly examine your old beliefs and redefine your terms a bit. I am pretty convinced that the "god" of abrahamic beliefs was originally intended to be a personification of the universe as a whole. Once I came to that realization then my anger towards churchies subsided and I could sympathize with them for their ignorance. Further, at this point I found that I could still have faith in "god" through Lao Tzu and an emphasis on balance. I began to see things all as a cycle and when bad things happened I had faith that good was around the corner. You don't have to lose faith altogether - just focus on things that aren't mystical bullshit.

A man was arrested last night charged with medical fraud.

JeffMesser comments on Feb 24, 2020:

elixir that causes immorality? we call that whiskey.

Why are many Christian people against D&D (Dungeons and Dragons.) playing?

JeffMesser comments on Feb 25, 2020:

fear. In D&D we try to convince our brain that this false narrative is a new reality no matter what our senses and logic says otherwise. The PFC treats this as yet another experience to learn from ... draws the comparison internally (myths are not reality) ... and tries to adjust our own internal narrative accordingly. This makes them question their internal narrative and creates a mental dissonance. This insecurity causes them fear and they lash out.

I love how most people who believe the bible can trace their belief to the notion that the bible ...

JeffMesser comments on Feb 25, 2020:

go to genesis and assume that the word "god" refers to the universe as a whole. a personification. now things start to make more sense. it's still a bunch of hooey, but now it doesn't seem so silly.

Scientists Find The First-Ever Animal That Doesn't Need Oxygen to Survive [sciencealert.com]

JeffMesser comments on Feb 25, 2020:

trumps brain cells?

Isn't this clever! It's a bit of a "stretch" but I think they really "nailed" it.

JeffMesser comments on Feb 26, 2020:

Tying her up with duck tape and nailing her 3x works miracles also.