Background When I was about 9 years old growing up in Oklahoma in the 1950s, I remember stating my opinion to a grown-up man. It started out with “I think…” about some forgotten topic. However, I do remember his response: “Do you think or do you know?” Well, I doubt if I really knew what I was talking about, but […]
Tag: spirituality
It was like stepping into a tiny 1960s London police box and finding myself in Dr. Who’s TARDIS, suddenly unconstrained by the stifling dimensions of space and time. From the outside the restaurant looked physically tiny and claustrophobically crowded. Inside, the dimensions seemed infinitely spacious. But instead of being swept into Dr. Who’s divided universe of […]
(Or, What the Sackler family and the Haitian refugees have in common) What do the Sackler family and the Haitian refugees have in common? They are both using every resource they have to survive. The Sackler family has armies of highly-paid lawyers and tax specialists, unenlightened elitist judges, ubiquitous myth-manufacturing media, money-oriented medical professionals, and lobbied subservient politicians to […]
Introduction To define religion and spirituality is difficult to do. Yet, it is important that we have some understanding of what these words mean for the quadrune mind model of spirituality and this blog. The best definitions of “religion” and “spirituality” for the quadrune mind model come from Bowling Green State University. Spirituality is defined as “the […]
Recently I was talking with some friends and as we are all of a certain age, the conversation came around to funeral service options. For various personal and religious reasons, several different preferences were expressed. Choices included cremation, a launch to sea on a small boat, donation to a medical school, and my offering, a […]
Introduction In previous posts we have profiled each of the three pre-Human mentalities: the reptilian mind (as seen in Donald Trump’s behavior), the old mammalian mind (as seen in Temple Grandin’s understanding of animals), and the new mammalian mind (as seen in Tara Westover’s intellectual journey). These profiles are not meant to demonize anyone, but […]
Introduction In the quadrune mind model of spirituality, there is no spiritual merit in the killing of another person—ever. In this blog we will describe some moral arguments for killing other people and indicate which level of pre-Human consciousness, as described in the quadrune mind model, best corresponds. We will end with an examination of the circumstances […]
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Thinking about God
At times, it seems as though I’ve spent my whole life thinking about God. And although God may be unchanging, my thoughts about God have changed significantly over the years. This essay provides a review of my religious and spiritual background. It is not presented to persuade anyone to agree with my spiritual beliefs, found […]
Creationism is a dramatic story. The Supreme God commands the universe into existence, touching the earth to make humanity. But I think a more powerful story is the extraordinary evolutionary force that brings a universe into existence and gives rise to stars, life, and human consciousness. Every atom in our bodies was once stardust. Biblically, angels […]
The New York Times recently ran an article with the following in bold type: “Modern life is ugly, brutal and barren. Maybe you should try a Latin Mass.” This line caught my eye because the quadrune mind model has a lot to say about exactly why people would turn to Catholicism or Orthodoxy or other religions based in ritual […]