Another related thought that I've been trying to wrap my mind & emotions around for a couple of years now...
The "will to believe" is similar to what a friend said, "Functional illusions are priceless."
If you think about it, they are!
They say that in pharmaceutical studies, a medicine only has to pass the placebo effect just barely to pass the "FDA" or whoever approves it. It might be more healthy to take the placebo, without all of the nasty side-effects.
Can we make our own placebo effect, even knowing about the placebo effect?
HOW?
There are some beliefs that seem to be really good to believe in at first, but in reality are not so good... IE: You meet somebody who you fall in infatuation with only to find out later you were dreaming big time. Or... as in the case of religion, some put all their faith in a scapegoat human sacrifice - to realize later it isn't the most functional to believe someone else must suffer for my mistakes & get me off the hook from improving where needed.
So, in a way it gives us freedom to realize that everything is illusion - & that we can pick and choose which illusions we want to invest thought, emotion and action into. Yet, how much can we fool ourselves? How much faith & passion can we really stir up while knowing that we are consciously illuding ourselves?
(I'm sorting my thoughts, so bare with me while I argue with myself.
)
Actually, we are so freaking clueless! Compared to all there is to know & understand, we don't know s---! We may think that we are illuding ourselves, but we really don't even know that!
But then, we are walking a tight rope between falling too hard for illusions only to come crashing down... & on the other side, falling for a life-less passion-less life.
How do we know which illusions are functional & which aren't? Logic can't really be part of illusion, without messing up the illusion. Who wants to watch a movie with somebody pointing out how unreal everything is? Trial & error is the only way to really know, I guess.
To be functional, must an illusion be temporary - not clinged to for dear life?
Some of my functional illusions:
* I can make a positive difference in some way.
* I have some natural talents and have developed related skills - so along with spiritual energy assistance, I can do extraordinary things.
* My body is amazingly intelligent and knows how to heal itself & have great energy & takes care of me, as long as I take care of my body.
The "will to believe" is similar to what a friend said, "Functional illusions are priceless."
If you think about it, they are!
They say that in pharmaceutical studies, a medicine only has to pass the placebo effect just barely to pass the "FDA" or whoever approves it. It might be more healthy to take the placebo, without all of the nasty side-effects.
Can we make our own placebo effect, even knowing about the placebo effect?
HOW?
There are some beliefs that seem to be really good to believe in at first, but in reality are not so good... IE: You meet somebody who you fall in infatuation with only to find out later you were dreaming big time. Or... as in the case of religion, some put all their faith in a scapegoat human sacrifice - to realize later it isn't the most functional to believe someone else must suffer for my mistakes & get me off the hook from improving where needed.
So, in a way it gives us freedom to realize that everything is illusion - & that we can pick and choose which illusions we want to invest thought, emotion and action into. Yet, how much can we fool ourselves? How much faith & passion can we really stir up while knowing that we are consciously illuding ourselves?
(I'm sorting my thoughts, so bare with me while I argue with myself.
)Actually, we are so freaking clueless! Compared to all there is to know & understand, we don't know s---! We may think that we are illuding ourselves, but we really don't even know that!
But then, we are walking a tight rope between falling too hard for illusions only to come crashing down... & on the other side, falling for a life-less passion-less life.
How do we know which illusions are functional & which aren't? Logic can't really be part of illusion, without messing up the illusion. Who wants to watch a movie with somebody pointing out how unreal everything is? Trial & error is the only way to really know, I guess.
To be functional, must an illusion be temporary - not clinged to for dear life?
Some of my functional illusions:
* I can make a positive difference in some way.
* I have some natural talents and have developed related skills - so along with spiritual energy assistance, I can do extraordinary things.
* My body is amazingly intelligent and knows how to heal itself & have great energy & takes care of me, as long as I take care of my body.
