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 Jeg trodde jeg skulle gå langt og lengre for
å finne Livskvaliteten og jeg gikk og gikk, stavret, ramlet, haltet,
krabbet, krøp og trodde jeg hadde kommet et lite stykke på vei. Langt
unna hørte jeg noen som sa: "Går du lengre nå kommer du til bredden av
Styx. Snu heller om og kom tilbake hit. Slipp tingene dine på bakken, du
kan ta dem med når du skal hjem igjen. Kom hit; bakenfor jeget."
Jeg slapp noen av de tyngste tingene ned i veikanten og bar meg skakk på
resten for det var mange ting jeg visste at jeg måtte ha. Bakover og bakover. Helt tilbake til antikken. |
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Heraklit var en av grunnpilarene for vestens filosofi.
Der fant jeg tenkeren. Heraklit, Den dunkle.....
Han levde etter sigende fra 540 - 480 f.Kr. Heraklits
overbevisning var at ilden var selve urstoffet og at spenning mellom
motsetninger gir forandringer. For 5 min siden så jeg ut av vinduet og
solen skinte. For 3 min siden så jeg ut av vinduet og regnet strømmet
ned. Når jeg nå ser ut av vinduet igjen ser jeg grått. Jeg ser vannnet
fra regnet renne gjennom naturen. Store endringer og små endringer.
Spenningen er utløst, regnet vant for nå. Neste øyeblikk har alltid en
annen virkelighet.
"Panta Rei" sa Heraklit. Alt flyter.
Ja, slik er det, tenkte jeg og jeg så Aurora Borealis fløt over meg .
Ut i universet. Lys og mørke, og jeg fløt med. Panta Rhei. Jeg følte at
det var min første sannhet.
John Toland
- inventor of the word pantheist
"The sun is my
father, the earth my mother,
the world
is my country and all men are my family".
Find the answers:
Why I am a pantheist
.
Pantheism believes that the universe and nature are worthy of
the deepest religious reverence. Understanding them, appreciating
their beauty, and preserving nature, should be the central focus of
our lives.Why do pantheists believe in pantheism?
There are several compelling reasons.
1. Most traditional religions have elements which are hard to
believe or to reconcile with common sense, evidence or modern
science. Most pantheists are reared in another religion, and as
they mature come to question what they have been taught. This
leads many people to atheism or humanism.
2. Atheism and humanism don't suffer from the logical or
empirical problems of traditional religions - but many people
find them too cold and dry. They don't provide a sense of
positive belonging to nature and the universe.
3. Nearly everyone feels religious feelings when looking at
nature or the night sky. Most people explain those feelings in
terms of the religion they were taught as children.
Pantheism believes that those feelings are older and more
basic than any traditional religion: they are a natural part of
our existence as natural material beings. They are a recognition
of our participation and belonging as members of nature and the
universe.
Pantheism takes those feelings as its basic foundation.
Pantheism says simply that the universe is worthy of the deepest
reverence. This is a statement about the attitude we should adopt
towards the universe and nature - an attitude which we have no
choice but to adopt of we open our eyes to the full awe and mystery
of reality.
The universe has some features in common with the God of
traditional religions - its power, immensity, and mystery. But it is
not personal. It has no mind apart from the minds of intelligent
species within it. It is neither loving nor vengeful. It does not
sit in judgement over us and mete out rewards and punishments in an
afterlife.
Before we can really understand the "numinousness" of the cosmos,
we must forget everything we have learned about traditional gods,
and learn to look at what is in front of our eyes with an open mind.
Pantheism goes beyond atheism in offering a positive approach to
the world and a a reverent and religious attitude towards nature and the
universe. It affirms our unity with these, and rejects the idea of human
mastery over nature or human pre-eminence in the cosmos. It takes our
relationship to nature and to the universe as the centre of our
religion, our ethics and our aesthetics
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"Lykkelig
er den som ikke sørger over hva han mangler,
men gleder seg over hva han har." Demokrites. (ca. (560-473)"Enda lykkeligere er den som ikke vet at han mangler noe", hun levde i
lykkelig uvitenhet kan man si. Anne Elisabeth.
Notes
Livskvalitet kan ikke kjøpes, kan ikke leies, kan ikke
lånes, kan ikke arves. Hva gjør vi da?
Ingen som ble elsket er egentlig død.
No one who was loved has really died.
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Quotations:
- "Be still like a mountain and flow like a
great river." Lao Tse
- "Different Chinese philosophers, writing
probably in 5-4 centuries B.C., presented some major
ideas and a way of life that are nowadays known
under the name of Taoism, the way of correspondence
between man and the tendency or the course of
natural world." Alan Watts, from his book: "Tao:
The Watercourse Way."
- "We believe in the formless and eternal Tao,
and we recognize all personified deities as being
mere human constructs. We reject hatred,
intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace
harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by
Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao,
that we may live in peace and balance with the
Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond."
Creed of the Western Reform Taoist Congregation
History of Taoism:
Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly
translated into English as path, or the way.
It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced.
It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and
flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao
regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the
Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e.
there would be no love without hate, no light without
dark, no male without female.)"
The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be
Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius.
(Alternative spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu,
Laozi, Laotze, etc.). He was searching for a way that
would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other
conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime.
The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a.
Daodejing). Others believe that he is a mythical
character.
Taoism started as a combination of psychology and
philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE
when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time
Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism,
along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the
three great religions of China. With the end of the
Ch'ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended.
Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the
next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory
in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. "The
new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated
temples, and plundered treasures. Several million monks
were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960. During the cultural revolution in China from
1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was
destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored
under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time.
Taoism currently has about 20 million followers, and
is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists
live in North America; 1,720 in Canada (1991 census).
Taoism has had a significant impact on North American
culture in areas of "acupuncture, herbalism, holistic
medicine, meditation and martial arts..." |
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