Science and Religion

The 14th Dalai Lama is on tour in Holland and Germany ... technology enables world-wide livestreaming and the chance to learn more about the state of AI and robotics ... prosthetic arms apparently activated by the brain of the girl wearing them ... an elegant head and shoulders activated by its remote human who finds it difficult to attend school, let alone conferences in the Netherlands. .. echoing Max Tegmark's remarks about focusing on beneficial AI, whilst guarding against the dark side ... good luck with that folks!

These scientific symposia willingly offer a platform to HHDL, who insists that his version of Buddhism follows logic above Faith ... making it less a religion than a school of philosophy ... however, philosophy bowing to science is fine as long as science also bows to philosophy and accepts the limitations of its methods ... expressed by Krishnamurti and Bohm as "The Limits of Thought" ... and as fast as science expands its knowledge, so it discovers more that it does not know ... the distinction between knowledge and wisdom also worth exploring ...

An interesting question from Jade, at home in bed, via her avatar head, with moving eyes, compassionately engaged with by HHDL, asks whether future Dalai Lamas could be female, elicits an even more interesting response: yes, there is no reason the job could not be held by a female, though the continuation of the tradition itself is provisional ... the suggestion being that the form may no longer be appropriate ... all this allowing reincarnation as a given, which is not commonly the case in the West ...

This question rehearsed also with ailing friend, coming to terms with various versions of life after bodily death ... evidence for reincarnation quite strong anecdotally though lacking rigorous scientific approval ... the sense here being that it is a thing, glimpsed on the sea voyage at Zambujeira do Mar. .. anyway, whether or not it is a thing is hardly the key question, sensing it is leads to a happy old age ... if it turns out to be wrong, so what? And karma keeps us on our toes in this life, though kindness brings its own rewards immediately and leading a good life not best seen as an insurance policy for next time round ...

Yesterday's brisk breezes delay rooftop power station and provide plenty of firewood around the region ... local farmer reports more than half of silage crop blown away before baling, at an uninsured cost of £1,500 ... roads blocked briefly ... today calm restored and work continues ...

Meanwhile October dental work in Tavira confirmed, meaning sunny break ... mental work open with Camino options. .. new shoes and waterproof ready ... let's see!

Fake news

There was a time when the BBC was respected around the world for its reliable reporting of events. As it happens, the ploy was to tell the truth most of the time so that the fake news could slip in under the radar. This was exposed during the British Coal Miners' Strike of 1984-5, when the broadcaster showed film footage of the police (including soldiers posing as police) coming under attack from miners picketing the coal depot at Orgreave, followed by the heroic counter-attack by mounted police wielding batons. The film was spliced. The police attack came first, the miners' reaction followed. Other examples are available.

So, which news is real and which fake?

Current debate has embattled mainstream providers of propaganda labelling citizen journalism on social media as fake news, whilst an amusing compilation of various mainstream television stations in the U.S.A caught out using identical catch phrase, clearly centrally co-ordinated, citing citizen journalists as a threat to freedom and democracy ... American citizens having been programmed over decades to conflate freedom, democracy and the "American Way of Life", without much evidence ... indeed the plutocracy running the show over there is a long way from freedom or democracy ...

In pursuit of non-fake news and encouraged by local friend and sometime Fleet Street journalist, a copy of the Sunday Telegraph is purchased, which is a first ... currently owned by the mysterious Barclay Brothers, the Torygraph as it is often called, offers another perspective of what may or may not be going on in the mundane world. Front page has a colourful character, convicted criminal, commercially successful author of awful dross and once Tory M.P. Jeffrey Archer, pictured, his description skipping the first two options and citing his opinion that a second referendum on UK is EU is undemocratic, though he favours staying in the bloc ... amusingly he says if he lived in Northern England he would probably vote for Jeremy Corbyn,  hardly helpful to JC's cause ...

Meanwhile, the messiah JC's crucifixion continues, aptly enough instigated by the Zionists of the State of Israel and their supporters, older anti-semitism having been promoted by the Catholic characterisation of Jews as Christ killers, raising another fake news question and worrying example of Big Lie psychology, where the reliably anti-fascist, anti-racist rabble rouser is accused of anti-semitism ... well placed and well paid Labour Party MPs gleefully collude in the slander ... orthodox rabbis denounce the scurrillous campaign ... otherwise assimilated British Jews take one side or the other ... Jewishness being rather a mystery here, since it may describe a race and/or a religion ... many modern folks decline to identify by either, yet somehow the myth or fact of the Chosen Race lingers ...

... setting up an interesting political pantomime as previous abstainers from the fraud that is our parliamentary democracy join the fray, from left, right and so-called centre ... where lurks the charismatic war criminal and previous Prime Minister, Bliar, hoping to head up a motley crew from all parties with the main aim of derailing the chaotic exit from the EU ... such polarisation leading voters into holding their noses and hoping their vote might prevent the alternative ... as happened in France, when the dodgy Macron gathered reluctant votes from opponents of the fascist alternative, Le Pen ...

... and since our disunited Kingdom is no longer important enough to go it alone, abandoning the European alliance would take us even closer to our cousins across the Atlantic ... scary times!

Of course, at geo-political level, EU and US are linked in a military alliance, whilst Russia and China vie for succession to the decadent empire of the USA.

Dear reader, please do not be concerned at this descent into the mundane, mainstream, consensus reality ... early morning talk from HHDL raises the tone with his effortless assumption of role of World Spiritual Leader ... kindness as always the message, along with an admonition to take nothing in Blind Faith, but to check it out for yourself ... and as for political shenanigans, short memories serve the system ... tracing cause and effect chains takes longer ....

And in the only news guaranteed not fake, direct sense perception reliably reports scaffolding in place outside no.5 Railway Terrace ready for a mini-power station on the roof ... in the village kindness abounds, shared surplus fruit, smiles ... a busy week with minibus trips, a visit from daughters, on top of the routine pre-breakfast walks leaves little space for reading and writing ... this week more open so far ... not very interesting and unlikely to sell newspapers, but at least it's not fake ... perhaps authentic is the opposite of fake?

Anyway, authenticity here means peace and quiet, plenty of time to think and not think, with short bursts of community engagement ...

AI and Digital Dangers ...

Current reading includes attempt to stretch cerebral processors with unfamiliar information, in the form of Max Tegmark's "Life 3.0", subtitled "Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" ... raising all sorts of fascinating philosophical questions, not least why the AI entity offering alternative words for the blog does not recognise "fascinating" but suggests fascinarpting instead ... in its defence learning does occur and the correct and desired word is inserted eventually, though the question is: why is not AI pre-loaded with a current dictionary, or dictionaries to allow foreign words too? Technical stuff passes by, but speed of change is noted and possibilities incorporated into current reality tunnel ... possibilities, of course, become probabilities and actualities according to choices made at each stage ... dystopian outcomes as likely as utopian ones ... and any and all available if indeed we inhabit an infinity of parallel worlds ... before which ...

... awareness shows immediate consequences of smart phones making us stupid ... car drivers decapitated by texting while driving ... less dramatic, the insidious perils of holding phones to ears, or carrying them close to sensitive body parts like ovaries ... FB  presentation this morning suggests digital dementia becoming a thing, as AI hijacks our minds ... smart chip implants already tested and ready to go, first to correct neurological problems, then as "enhancer of intelligence", though how academic qualifications are factored in is a question yet to be asked ... or, more likely, is being asked, without clear cut answers ...

Observing pilgrims wired up for sound and vision, each step of the route marked, leads to the oft asked question of what constitutes an authentic pilgrimage ... since baggage can be carried ahead, which necessitates a pre-planned daily destination, since herd mentality may lead to the whole Way turning into a moving party ... since taxis are about to ease the pain ... though tragically eschewed by German pilgrim on the Via de la Plata in the height of summer this year, on the long stage from Caceres to Canavaral via the Alcantara reservoir and its closed Albergue ... not the only one to have died through heat stroke or related causes this hot summer ...

Observing sheep grazing on daily walks in Stanhope and Show visitors similarly grazing on snacks  and drinks as they wander about, a question arises as to whether an evolutionary return loop is opening up ... the problem compounded for humans by the poisonous,sugar laden rubbish being consumed ... the progress towards homo "sapiens" enabled by shifting from grass diets to denser foods such as corpses ... anyway, evolution, though on an extended timescale, is not complete, and is likely branching into many different versions of homo, hopefully at least one worthy of the word "wise" alongside ...

An inspirational video on FB from Patch Adams points to our opportunity, as conscious creatures also conscious of our consciousness, to keep the often disturbing mainstream consensus reality in awareness, whilst dwelling in paradise, focusing on what we want to see and do ... in his case work with sick children compassionately, showing that laughter is just as important as all technical and pharmaceutical medicine. .. just because we can't do everything everywhere, doesn't mean we can't do something somewhere ... and that often turns out to be where we are right now ...

Balance

Previous post, on reflection, requires some balance, since local FB group hereabouts is often about unwanted items offered free, as well as useful information on local services, weather and traffic warnings in real time rather than fear inducing speculation some national media like to promote ...

Yesterday's early trip to the Show was rewarded with uncrowded craft tent, time to engage with K fan and Aloe Vera supplier Ben and possible plans for Power of 8 circles locally ... a questionnaire with Churches Together in the Dale, a necessary amalgamation given falling turnout from the faithful, effectively Methodists and C of E it seems, RCs possibly holding to higher ground despite similar attendance issues, not to mention widespread revulsion at high level cover-ups of child abuse ... local friend and sceptical follower of the Once True Faith, questioning his priest about the issue, is assured that it was not for him to worry about ... which is cause for concern in itself of course ...

Community Garden collaborator comes for lunch, with several foraged items on the vegan menu, and shows interest in buying the house ... tempting to leap free again hmmm let's see! Meanwhile solar panels are due in a week or two, then off to Portugal for dental appointment, some sunshine and whatever ensues ...

Well, the Show is over for another year, though fairground rides continue in the street and church service presumably runs in the showfield hall (posh shed) ... traditional wife carrying competition skipped after afternoon wander round ... and so the year turns ... proper autumn now ...

Group think

Muse takes another break, though musing continues, along with reading, walking, foraging and some engagement with other humans and canines ...

Meanwhile Autumn seems to have arrived in Stanhope, though well before the equinox, even a little before the calendar definition ... mushrooms and blackberries in abundance ... heatwave of summer a dim memory as sunshine and showers set up hot topic in the village as to weather for Stanhope Show Weekend ... last weekend's Wolsingham Show saw a brief return of summer Sun, though the event is too big and busy for your blogger, whose simplified mind resists return to previous levels of complexity ...

Lynne McTaggart's Power of Eight intrigues, with its references to the power of intention, specifically when amplified by a group and notably effective in healing intenders focusing on the needs of others rather than themselves ... lots to digest, not all brand new ... Emoto's well known work on water, for example ... a group tuning in to effect significant change for individuals, war zones and so on resonates with Thich Nhat Hanh's proposal that a community tuning in to higher frequencies may become a superorganism in an evolutionary leap for mankind ... which leads tangentially to a fruitless search for a book by the Zen master in order to ensure correct spelling of his tricky name ... an ommission to be addressed, since his writing is very clear and insightful and Zen Buddhism, along with Taoism, key elements in the library here ...

Social media is full of Thay of course, well it is when tailored for such content ... Tao and Zen FB page, for example ... though FB, the main platform for Social Media, or S&M as it often appears, is edited broadly enough to allow a range of perspectives and FB itself imagines certain paid posts which may be of interest ... as for other platforms, Google plies personalised feed with football, though interest in it is fleeting these days ... Twitter has never been embraced, though many tweets turn up on FB and other "news" sources of course ...

Local FB groups offer opportunity to engage emotionally ... petty thefts, misbehaviour, uncollected dog poo and so on ... perpetrators labelled "low life", "scum" and other unpleasant words ... virtual lynch mobs reinforce otherness ... while national and international polarised political positions pose plausible scenarios for our participation ... some beyond belief and suggesting creative script writers at work ... as observed before ... whether group think at lynch mob level takes us off into hell realms is an interesting question along with its relation: if a community tuning in to higher frequencies may become a superorganism, might a community tuning in to lower frequencies also become one, albeit on a different evolutionary branch ....? Lynne McTaggart's work suggests group think operates virtually equally well as in physical proximity ... her non-local field coming into play ...

As you may observe, dear reader, a simplified mind has lots of time and space to explore unusual topics ...

Meanwhile, afternoon bus ride to Wolsinham to buy the best bread in the world, a seeded sourdough created by Alex, artisan baker of Rise, a man on a mission, liberated from retailing, not his strong point, by persuading local cafes to stock his wares ... a wander back along the valley to liberate some tasty apples from a tree growing by the railway with fruit hanging by the footpath through the farmer's field ...

In other reading matter, Terence Stamp offers some fascinating information in his memoir ... including a terse comment from his occasional mentor, Krishnamurti, who, upon hearing of Stamp's flirtation with gurus in India: "it is not to be found in supermarkets" ... "it" being the Truth, That which is not to be described, Tao or whatever ... the gurus guru, he taught not to follow gurus, but to work it out for ourselves ... and held the infamous Osho in special disregard ... his view of non-dual master Nisardagatta is not noted, the N's view of K, who he never met in person, is intriguing "we are in the same ancient condition" ... questions of direct transmission linger along with reflections that being in the presence of spiritual masters leaves a mark ... those who knew K, though not necessarily exhibiting enlightenment, are dedicated to his teaching and his memory, or their memory of him ... of course those who met him and were not impressed don't show up at Brockwood, so who knows? Personal experience is limited to being in a theatre with 1,800 others and the Dalai Lama on the stage, a moving, magical event ...