thetimesink

The younger son had a paper due last night. Lately he's done this stuff on his own, but I'm still available for grammar, spelling and style work when he's bagged from sleep deprivation. Occasionally writer's block pops up or his extemporaneous BS machine sticks on a topic; then I toss an idea or two his way. Last night's work was a "read and expand" assignment on Richard Bach's Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. ...and he needed another page.

I dropped a stream-of-consciousness onto the keyboard and sent it on the way. I offered it linked as a reference if he needed another. For your light reading enjoyment:

Couple things on Eastern versus Western philosophy:

These are not to be confused with religion (regardless of indoctrination).

The perspective does not boil down to science versus spirituality (regardless of upbringing).

It also cannot be reduced to “provable” items as both rely on anecdotal history.

In the book we are treated to a classic role play of the “learned one” who takes on a “disciple” to instruct in the ways of the Force (see what I did there?). “Magic” and mysticism are brought in via the “handbook” (it has its own printing, by the way) which shows the seeker exactly what he needs to see (or not, as in the mirror from Harry Potter).

The seeker (self-identified or discovered as such later) has a nature-and-nurture background from the West (Richard). As such he is classically (stereotypically) ego-centric, and only knows what is in his personal database as derived from school, life experiences, and televison. Life is black and white and perhaps lacking any shades of grey (yes, I use the British spelling). He is well into his life-path and runs across a disillusioned fellow pilot (Donald). Donald has given up on the barnstorming action adventure shows they both have been a part of; he has been trying to impart a meaning to his performances while people have only been getting the “Oh, Gee!” portion of the show.

Contrast: the Western attitude (a nurture attribute) of "see what is in front of you", a grounding in hard science and an unwillingness to understand anything not seen before, yet with an huge portion of the inhabitants following a book written a couple of thousand years ago and anecdotal stories of happenings that defy the the first portion of this run on sentence. Oh, and the Quran and the Bible? “Abraham, originally Abram, is the first of the three patriarchs of Judaism. His story features in the holy texts of all the Abrahamic religions and Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” (Wikipedia)

...versus the Eastern attitude (again, nurture and again stereotypical) of openness and peace and the concept of “things can happen”. This tends to translate to the bit about, “Believe, and anything can happen”, (Richard Bach, in “Johnathan Livingston Seagull” circa 1970. Also, “the Hallmark Channel”.)

Interlude on magic: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”, Arthur C. Clarke, 1917-2008. You may remember this from your childhood: http://thetimesink.net/2007/DCB071224.html (bottom of the page; the graphic and quote hung in the garage at my workstation).

Eastern: contemplation (often via mediation), examination, and practice. Oh. That sounds very close to the “scientific method”. Okay, I’m being a pedantic boor. I’ll finish early and continue on the web. If you need to source this, I’ll post it and provide a link.

Eastern: mediation? Monks: mediation. Thomas Merton was a scholar who became a Trappist Monk and authored a pile of books on Zen until he died a few years back.

Also: addressed very well in Marvel’s “Dr. Strange” movie that we saw last night (comics from my youth).

Okay, off to correct and see what I can toss in, Dad