welcome to wongolia

Enlightenment

2009-06-26T00:59:00.000+08:00

We are walking slowly, all of humanity, traipsing through this long tunnel with a tiny glimmer of light at the end. Of all the knowledge and wonders that we have come to fathom throughout the ages (and this long tunnel), and of the phenomena yet to be systematically summarized into taxonomies of greek equation, there will always remain that tiny spot of light that we will never understand.

Perhaps we were not meant to understand it, like the juicy fruit that remains just one branch away yet out of reach- for about two-thousand years now and then some. Sure, we can hypothesize and theorize the metaphysical from little fragments of the puzzle we gather along the way; maybe that is all we would ever get from a great search.

I have come to realize that everyone does need a little faith, more so during the darkest of days and coldest of nights, when all reason abandons you and can no longer offer you the solace of rational thought. Faith breaks down the protectionist barriers that our minds are evolved to build around itself, ebbing you on to do what you previously thought impossible.

I believe that religious doctrine is definitely out of date over-reliant on human interpretation of scriptures and traditions, some of which are in conflict with modern values and living. In each religious institution, there will be the zealous ones as well is the independent minds on the opposite end of the spectrum- still believing that God is probably somewhere out there, whatever they perceive him to be, sans the parables, creation stories, processions, ceremonial bells and whistles and incense smokescreen-- for we are free to choose how we live in faith, if we decide to.

And that was how I made peace with God.

Injustice

2009-04-04T01:42:00.001+08:00

Utilitarianist Professor Peter Singer once proposed that the basic principle of equality does not require equal or identical treatment it requires equal consideration.

Throughout human history we have seen and learnt of numerous unfair treatment towards those that we perceive as lesser beings, from coloured skins, women and even animals- all the suppressor group's efforts to fulfill needs by means of reducing levels of competition. This is expressed in further detail by the Realistic Conflict Theory by Sherif (1966).

Perhaps the greatest injustice of all is the deprival of our very own existance by means of environmental abuse. Amidst the widespread reports on melting ice-caps and fried polar bears, the media war for the consumer dollar is still relatively swayed towards that of excess and the consumerism culture created by the powerful corporate entities with their generous advertising budgets.

For every piece of paper saved and every hybrid car rolled out, reams of half-used papers are being burnt along with fuel in the insane population of internal combustion engines around the world. We may save an aluminium soda can one fine day, but replace existing possessions with newer, flashier versions all in the name of keeping up with technology.

While the green movement has taken shape after years of campaigning and protocol signing, with the design of greener buildings (built with the same trucks and cranes that guzzle fuel), these efforts are a depressing small step forward to repair (note: not reverse) the effects of environmental degretation.

The greatest victims of this injustice are the subsistence communities who do not live with 6-litre cars and 4 fridges in 10 years, they are the poorer of the global pool who often depend on mercy relief from the very nations that aggravated erratic climate patterns and upset the status quo of their predominatly agricultural activities. Diseases will ravage this lot, as the weather drowns/scorches their crops. And the rest of the world still lives blissfully in ignorance, most blind to the fact of inter-linked economies in trade regions, and ultimately the survival of a community. Yes, we are selfish mofos.

A change of belief is perhaps the true blue solution to the environmental catastrophe- if there is a solution to change 6.77 billion individual belief systems.

In some communities, cultural traditions take precedence over other environmental issues. We see the Chinese continue to openly burn paper offerings during funerals and selected dates on the lunar calendar. I am not proposing that rituals and practices be totally ignored in lieu of the environment, but I am proposing an evolution in certain practices to accommodate the needs of the population at large. Certainly the Chinese practices are not the only ones contributing to the burning frenzy.

I believe that while environmental lobbyists continue to push their causes, it will take a innate change to create a sustainable living environment. This bottom-up approach will probably not be seen in the near future, with the great myriad of cultures and beliefs to align into one common goal of existing for the next centuries to come.

Faith

2009-04-04T00:25:00.000+08:00

There are no witty rhyming titles to describe this entry, just like the rawness of psychological conviction and its potential to drive humans to extremes- sometimes bad, but predominantly good. To summarize the key points brought up in the entry on the underlying fundamentals of religion:

1) The concept of religion is based on the emotion of fear

2) Religion provides doctrines and the answers (i.e. Faith, Gods will etc) to many questions and complex inquisitions

3) Being a over-religious could potentially stifle intellectual growth if doctrines overwhelm one's beliefs

Yet, there is something inexplicably powerful about the phenomenon of faith and its power over the human mind. Despite the golden age of exploration, much of the living world still remains a mystery. While the unexplained drives scientific exploration amidst the academia, deep down within the layman it instills fear. This same fear that creatures face in the unknown darkness of night.

With the uncertainties of life and the great unknowns all around, faith itself is a logical occurrence. From a secular perspective, it is a coping mechanism meant to regulate individuals in a community by means of rituals, parables, and doctrine and artifact-supported rules.

Faith has driven feeble minds to extreme ends. In the negative light are examples such as the Aum Shinrikyo (a doomsday cult) sarin gas attacks on the Japanese subway, and the extremist terrorist groups that make their statements with a bang.
On the contrary, and not often portrayed in mainstream media, faith has also driven the same feeble minds achieve far more than their rationalist counterparts. This has only been documented on anecdotal levels, evident by personal sharing in religious organizations. These examples typically consist of overcoming personal Everests, inexhaustibly ranging from relationship repair, business ventures or a life-changing decision.

By logical reasoning, the human mind will not undertake an endeavor if the fear emotion plays up. However when faith takes a hold, the very same fears are often suppressed or eliminated altogether, thus allowing growth and discovery to take place as we fearlessly trudge forward against the odds.

Beyond the frankincense, myrrh and daily rituals performed in gilded temples around the world, faith is probably one of the ingredients quintessential to our sustainability as a race.

Faith gives us solace in times when cold logic cannot explain itself in an acceptable manner. On a personal level, the religious answer provides greater solace at times when cold hard logic sounds unforgiving. To illustrate, the death of a loved one could be faithfully perceived as 'according to God's greater plans', rather than the bleak truth about being run down by a vehicle.

On a macroscale, faith gives the human race hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Delusional, it may seem, evident the many bags of poop that are always hitting the fan somewhere around the world at any given time. But this 'faith' keeps us alive and away from wrist-slitting depression- it makes life a little more worth living for.

Ultimately, faith within each religious institute will serve its purpose to instill a belief that there is something beyond this existence that we are living/dying/suffering for. With this conviction in a greater cause comes a mass social regulation of behaviour that will benefit communities worldwide, assuming that religious teachings are involving upright virtures.

While this action of pining for an unseen intangible reward is irrational, I believe that faith does and should have its place in our human communities for the fact that it would provide an extra driving force that would compliment individual passion for the betterment of mankind.

So have a little faith- in yourself, or whatever you perceive your god to be.

The System

2009-03-26T00:04:00.000+08:00

click to enlarge.

click to enlarge.
ctrl + mouse scroll up if you like things BIGGG

Black

2009-03-25T23:59:00.000+08:00

(repost: the only essay salvaged amidst the erotica/short fictions from the previous blog)

With one last crack of the knuckles, the balaclava was pulled overhead and the shadow slid silently down the air vent, a petite stature permitted movement in confined spaces. It was routine, just like any other weekend; the deed could be done with eyes closed: get in, slide out and get back home. Bank security was lax in small towns like these anyway; a glock nestled snugly in its holster for unforeseen situations, with steel-tipped slugs within to stop any guard’s efforts of dutch courage.

Reaching the bottom of the vents, she landed on the floor of the bank office with nothing more than a whisper. Pulling out a handful from the belt pouch, she blew a cloud of chalk dust as a precaution against proximity lasers. None in sight; this bank made things all too easy. A pair of watchful eyes scanned the rectangular compound.

The dusty bank floor, tiled black and white alternately like a chessboard, appeared even more faded under the moonlight shining through the majestic stained-glass windows all round. The bank was not of contemporary design for sure, devilish gargoyles overlooked the counters from the four corners of the high ceiling. A wooden figure of a sword-wielding succubus stood atop the vault door. Gothically intriguing, she thought. Snapping back from the brief episode of awe, her eyes fixated themselves on the vault door’s assembly of gears. Mentally, she was already raping the door with ease. The smell of the reward reeked from within.

“I’ve got you now, you little scamp” a voice echoed across the empty hall, just as she dropped the lock-pick. A flash and thunderclap exploded through the air, hurling her frame against the cold hard vault door in a daze. Damned shotguns. Bringing her blood-stained fingers to sight, it was without doubt that she had been peppered with a mighty dose of buckshot. Incapacitated, she could only look on as the half drunk guard lumbered toward her, trying to figure out if the pouches on the shadow were breasts or tool pouches.

His knife slit open her taut leather skin suit just as her headgear came off. The pudgy guard growled a little before putting down his gun on a counter. She could barely make out his face in the darkness, but this bear of a man smelt like he just bathed in premium lager. Though drunk, he was still a man and he was already undoing his belt buckle, quite apparent that his intention was to let this squirming bitch suffer before sending her off to hell. A wide lusty smile was all he showed to affirm his intention; his fingers were already testing the pie he was going to eat.

The guard’s hands did all the walking, grunting and snorting as he executed his pathetic excuse of foreplay. He was all revved and ready, after all it was quite some time since he last had a romp. He stood up, in more ways than one, and lifted the helpless femme onto the wooden counter. Just as he reached down for his cuffs to restrain his toy, she seized his knife just a stone throw away, and in one swift strike, severed all ties he had with his manhood. A crimson fountain spewed forth as he morphed into a wailing siren, dropping to the floor to cradle the limp bloodied phallus-jewel package.

Gritting her teeth, she launched a kick at the void between his legs. Steel-toed boots gave a nasty punch. Leaping onto her feet, she crashed through the main door’s glass panes and disappeared into the darkness of the night, blood still seeping from her raw wounds. She could only hear the guard and alarm wailing in unison.

The evolutionary triple truth, ruth

2009-03-05T09:17:00.000+08:00

We are a fearful lot.

Perhaps the only species that capitalizes on this fearful nature to control and cannibalize the minds of our similar kind. Fear is the quintessence of consumerism: the driving force behind stocking up for a rainy day, the over-consumption for hypothetical shortages thereafter. Fear also holds you back, sometimes to prevent your from killing yourself, at other times it could be for promises of intangible rewards thereafter- 72 virgins, reincarnation, or an express ticket to the golden pearly gates.

Putting the mysteries of mysticism and metaphysics aside, this prose does not have intention to blaspheme any particular religion or promote atheism. This examination of the human psyche has to be taken with an open-mind, without being bombarded with reminders to "just believe". In a nutshell, it looks into whether God created Man or the other way round. Small children and big babies should not read on, at the risk of becoming a doubting Thomas. This is the point of no return.

Faith is emotion without logic, and we will briefly examine why.

1) Evolution of religion

Early hunter-gatherers during the stone age perceived that all objects moved by will. Insects and the stars alike, this will was compared to spirits (or Gods). With the lack of scientific knowledge, early man had little comprehension of weather phenomenon that affected crop growth and microbiology that was the root for ill health. They believed that by consuming the meat of certain revered animals, the characteristic traits of that animal could be inherited.

To draw up an illustration, fear of the weather also led them to rituals that evolved over the generations, from rain-dances to sacrificial offerings. Whilst it made no sense (and perhaps an awful waste) by today's standards to offer a sweet young lass to the skies, it made perfect sense to appease their gods in this manner. On occasion the offerings would coincide with favorable weather conditions, for example, or the fulfillment of a request; this would further reinforce the presence of the god being worshipped.

Based on archaeological evidence and our current knowledge of early man's limited intellectual horizon, early hunter-gatherers lived on luck for survival. Their rituals of these early religions could be seen as a fear-coping mechanism to create increased chances of survival.

Fast-forwarding 21 centuries later, we are still seeing rituals from the eating of wafers believed to be the flesh of christ, to the burning of paper offerings to the dead, and the adherence to certain diets. All modern religions preach that theirs is THE way, and the way out of here to a better life.

Ultimately, religious truth will remain subjective because a dead earthling will not be able to report his findings to the rest of us mortals. But we can see a pattern here despite the evolution of religious beliefs over the centuries: rituals certainly appease the unease of mind. One constant that has remained in the religion equation is the presence of the fearful human mind, thus reinforcing the fact that the concept of a answer-to-it-all god or gods is but a coping mechanism.

2) Faith and Logic

A clear definition is needed between religious beliefs and religious teachings, even though the latter is derived from the former. Doctrines exist in their physical, tangible forms. This includes the primitive stone-carvings of early animism, the Bible, the Qu'ran and other religious texts. A belief is a firm innate mental conviction that these rituals and teachings actually serve their said-purpose.

It has been mentioned earlier that it is humanly logical to have faith as a coping mechanism. It guides you along a certain behavioral schema and in doing so acts as a compass for uncertain times. Rules and commandments stated in religious doctrines serve their function as in any institution: they eliminate the need for you to think.

How does this tie in with religion? In any religion, followers are required to do just as they are titled: follow. Inquisitive exploration and research about certain mystic phenomenon by the layman is discouraged and often left to the intrepid explorers of National Geographic and the History Channel. Religion provides answers that do not require logical substantiation or scientific investigation, thus these answers are instant, convenient and commonly satisfy the teachings of doctrines. Therefore it is plausible to conclude that the concept of religion is rationally irrational.

3) The Locus of Focus

Proponents of atheism view reliance on a religion as a development of a crutch mentality. This perspective holds water when religious communities attribute phenomenon and coincidences to supernatural metaphysics, rather than seek a rational understanding. This is known as an external locus of focus.

On the other hand, atheists and agnostics have an internal locus of focus as they hold true that all event outcomes that are in their control remain in their control. Coincidences are just coincidences. With this mindset, secular progress is brought about as people believe that the ability to create change lies completely within them.

Anecdotally speaking, I have met impassioned christian youths that view the christian God as being totally awesome because they do not understand the depth of science behind evolution and the discovery of ape animalia similar to the homo sapien today. To trivialize the whole theory of evolution, they simply put forth that God created Man, and everything else seperately. This again furthers my point on how religion creates a myopic, closed mind that ceases to question and investigate- the vital inquisition behind secular progress.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Is this a fair deconstruction of religion and the metaphysical? I do not think so. But for readability, I have excluded the cold hard facts and scientific links. In fact, science is on its way to discovering the God particle that could possibly explain the beginning of everything in a tangible, secular sense.

Religion does have its merits in society, and a role in psychological engineering on a macroscale. Major religions provide a moral guide to the many billions of its followers, without which our intra-species interactions may degrade into behavior guided by our selfish, individualistic principles.

I find the view that man is the ultimate end-of-the-road-creation mildly arrogant.

Facts are cheap, but opinions can only be formed with thinking minds.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
References:

Macrohistory & World Report: Hungers-Gatherers, Farmers, Gods and Human Sacrifice. Extracted 14 March 2009 from http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch00.htm