Perhaps the depression some have felt after seeing James Cameron's Avatar is due in part to something akin to Plato's concept of recollection. Maybe they sense what it's like to be more fully connected to nature, and they miss it. The Vatican is apparently upset that the movie promotes a spiritualism based on nature. They probably have a lot to be afraid of. Consider my article On Nature.
The Na'vi are blue, like Krishna, an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. The term avatar of course comes from Hinduism, which is itself a pantheistic religion (God=Nature).
Cameron says that the Na'vi's appearance was inspired by a dream his mother had of a 12-foot-tall blue woman. I find this curious, along with the Na'vi's "star acne," as the astral body is sometimes depicted as being a blue-gray.
The neural queue that the Na'vi use to connect up with others reminds me of similar "back of neck/base of the skull" style connections. In the American cartoon Exosquad people connected up to Exo-frames using "cyber jacks" that connected in the back of their necks. In The Matrix people were plugged into the matrix via a similar connection in the back of the neck. Some say that there is a chakra in the back of the neck that is involved in clairaudience and being able to act as a medium for spirits.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Airport Naked-Image Security Scans
The use of naked-image security scanners by airports represents an increase in panopticism. How long before such technology becomes available for personal use, and then anyone will be able to see anyone else naked? Consider this in relation to my discussion of Robot Surveillance Mites.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Happy New Year!
I hereby declare that this Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere (at 12:49 pm EST) marks the International Year 13,526.000.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
World Religion Review
I recently graduated from a two year interfaith ministry program. I've decided to publish articles based on the journal entries I kept during the program (we wrote a reflection paper for each class/topic we covered).
I act here as a religious critic, reflecting upon my encounter with these different traditions the way a movie critic reviews movies or a food critic reviews restaurants. My intention here is not to present the final word on any movement, or even to offer in depth analysis of each movement right out of the gate, but rather to give my "first impressions"[1] having studied these traditions in brief and having worked with instructors coming from these particular traditions.[2] I do this in the hopes of encouraging critical thinking and dialogue regarding different religious traditions. The articles for this series are meant as opening statements--the beginning of a discourse.
Notes:
[1] I entered the program after graduating college with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion and having already studied many of these traditions before. Depending on the tradition, I already came in with a greater or lesser background. That being said, I don't consider myself to be an expert in any of these traditions. Thus, I am presenting my "first impressions."
[2] For each tradition, we had an instructor (or instructors) from that tradition (Rabbis for Judaism, Sufis for Sufism, a Lama for Buddhism, etc.). Thus these traditions weren't being presented to us from people outside the respective traditions that merely studied them academically, but from people who really believed in the things they were teaching about and knew their own tradition from the inside-out.
I act here as a religious critic, reflecting upon my encounter with these different traditions the way a movie critic reviews movies or a food critic reviews restaurants. My intention here is not to present the final word on any movement, or even to offer in depth analysis of each movement right out of the gate, but rather to give my "first impressions"[1] having studied these traditions in brief and having worked with instructors coming from these particular traditions.[2] I do this in the hopes of encouraging critical thinking and dialogue regarding different religious traditions. The articles for this series are meant as opening statements--the beginning of a discourse.
Notes:
[1] I entered the program after graduating college with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion and having already studied many of these traditions before. Depending on the tradition, I already came in with a greater or lesser background. That being said, I don't consider myself to be an expert in any of these traditions. Thus, I am presenting my "first impressions."
[2] For each tradition, we had an instructor (or instructors) from that tradition (Rabbis for Judaism, Sufis for Sufism, a Lama for Buddhism, etc.). Thus these traditions weren't being presented to us from people outside the respective traditions that merely studied them academically, but from people who really believed in the things they were teaching about and knew their own tradition from the inside-out.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Places to Hide
The individual, as will to power, seeks to maximize itself as a field of influence. To this end, it will employ even seemingly contradictory strategies--even flickering between them. For example:
"Selfishness": "I don't have the power to end all the suffering that exists in the world, but at least I can make my own life worthwhile."
vs.
"Altruism": "I don't have the power to make my own life worthwhile, but at least I can contribute something positive to the world."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Interview with Stuart Hameroff
Check out my interview with Stuart Hameroff:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Interview-with-Stuart-Hame-by-Ben-Dench-091110-895.html
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Interview-with-Stuart-Hame-by-Ben-Dench-091110-895.html
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