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When I was a very young child, probably grade school, I had some hang-ups about the word Belief. I didn't want to lend my attention to situations I did not have proof existed, and I made a pact with myself to experience what spirituality the world had to offer, to learn of and be aware of, if there is some over-spirit or other-world beyond this one. If you want a shock, ask me about my experiences. I don't have proof of the existence of a God, yet I have had experiences that connected me with super-natural messages, most of which stem from Native American lore and legend. I have not signed off either way to believe in anything. I have only my experiences and the way I live my life to reflect on. Thanks for reading.

Day_Rain 3 June 25
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I just hafta bring up Robert Burton's book, On Being Certain, wherein he describes "neurological events" that are experienced as "thoughts" by those who have them. Yet they are not thoughts. One of them is the experience of certainty; of "knowing" something, which may be triggered by almost anything, including such phenomena as seizures. It is a fascinating read, and has helped me to understand fixed beliefs better than almost anything else I have read. A belief does not have to be "true" to be experienced as true. And to some extent, we resist evidence that contradicts our most deeply held beliefs. Think religion, politics, or any ideology that people cling to, afraid to examine their own beliefs with any kind of rigor.
Dr Burton goes even further: he declares that there is no such thing as an "objective" opinion; all opinions are subjective, by definition. The "rational mind" itself is a contrived thing; a useful fiction, perhaps, but it doesn't really exist. The implications for, say, artificial intelligence are enormous.

I favor non-fiction and this book seems like something I might read. I gather Robert's 'Certainty' is not unlike what I might deem 'stasis'. Semantics are a tricky thing considering the diversity of use & experience when it comes to any one word or term.

The last part you shared, how the rational mind is contrived, a useful fiction, sounds like a description of anarchy to me (that I like). And the AI reference stoked my interest because I'm attending an art event (burning man) this summer with the theme 'i.robot', and there are several Artificial Intelligence experiments going to be there.

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I see a small round chicken face with feet and he's giving us the middle fingers. There's also a smiling spider on his head.

I'm amused, I really like your comment. Those animals and their traits play a part in my life, and I have not made that connection to this image before.

@Day_Rain I'm sorry it wasn't a response to your post really, but I saw the Rorschach image and I felt compelled to say what I saw lol

@Piece2YourPuzzle regardless of if you read the post, I originally meant a response to the image.com/

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I have had experiences, too, that were achieved while in different states consciousness. But I understand that those experiences are anecdotal, and can't be proven, scientifically, to be real.

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The human brain and mind is an incredible and mysterious thing.

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