Written by Juvoci.
9 January 2021.
11:03 AM.
Okay, so in the last blog post, for 8 January 2021, I left alot of cliff-hangers.
Firstly, I didn’t quite finish the Thought Leader idea.
Secondly, I didn’t quite finish the Philosophy is Dumb and What is Philosophy ideas.
But before we get into either of those, I’m going to go on another tangent (as I do), because I just commented on someone’s Reddit post, and it seems relevant, so I want to post my response here. I’ll post the screenshots below.
This was the Reddit post. It was posted in the CircleJerk sub-Reddit. Obviously, it’s a joke. A sarcastic joke. But I took this sarcastic joke as an opportunity to express a real solution to some of our problems. Here it is:
Stop taking EXTREME and ABSOLUTE positions on COMPLEX topics.
“All Cops Are Bastards”? Obviously, this is not true. There are many police officers out there who simply want to use their elevated power to protect their communities from agents of chaos who wish harm upon innocent people. These cops do indeed exist.
Not all cops are bastards. Some of them? Yes. Most of them? Maybe, I don’t know. All of them? Certainly not.
Taking extreme and absolute positions on complex topics is a recipe for disaster. It’s a childish and immature and lazy way to approach the world. We can do better than this.
And I just want to mention, because I can see the trolls licking their lips. Yes, the question was a sarcastic joke, and my answer was a serious statement. I am fully aware. 🤡
11:29 AM.
Okay, now, let’s get back to the Thought Leader stuff, because that’s important.
The importance of Thought Leaders, and what it takes to be one.
Let’s define Thought Leader again, but in a different way this time. A Thought Leader could be compared to an “Influencer”. When Serena Williams or LeBron James or Coryn Rivera or Steph Curry or Lindsey Vonn or Michael Phelps endorse a brand such as Nike or Adidas or Puma or whatever… these brands gain an elevated reputation. “LeBron James wears Nike sneakers? Damn! Nike must make good sneakers!” And so Nike sales increase.
Jordan Peterson, for better or worse (I’m still undecided about him, though I do think that he’s genuinely a good guy and has a good heart, despite his viewpoints), is a Thought Leader. When Jordan Peterson says Marxism is on the rise, this is dangerous, we need to take this seriously and rebel against it… literally thousands of people will begin distributing his message online and IRL (in real life). Jordan Peterson quite literally has a microphone which broadcasts directly into thousands of people’s ears. (Well, not literally literally, but you get my point.) This is, in some sense, the definition of a Thought Leader.
In some sense, I’m already a Thought Leader. Many of the ideas I express are unusual, esoteric, not mainstream. But my reach isn’t very big, so I’m not leading many people.
11:45 AM.
So now that we’ve defined Thought Leader (again), let’s discuss why I want to be a Thought Leader (or at least grow as a Thought Leader), and what train of thought I actually want to lead.
In the last blog post, I mentioned Peace and Love. This is foundational. This is where it begins. If we don’t exercise Peace and Love, we cannot even really engage in conversation. The only reason I can honestly and freely engage in conversation with you is because we are at peace. If we were at war, this would not be possible.
Now, of course, just like everything else, Peace is a spectrum. At the high end of the Peace Spectrum, even arguments cease to exist. Individual beings simply express themselves and everyone who is listening simply listens. In such a circumstance, this being is expressing their truth, and everyone is listening with open minds, open hearts, without judgment. This is sort of… an idealistic scenario.
But this “idealistic scenario” isn’t necessarily what we need right now, because humanity does indeed have some complex problems which need solving, and simply opening our hearts to everyone’s subjective truth isn’t necessarily going to solve those problems. Instead, we must share our ideas, experiment with those ideas, find the best ideas, and act on them. In other words, we must share our ideas and then debate those ideas, in order to find the best idea.
Problems arise when ego interferes. People become attached to their ideas. They want credit. They want to be the savior of the world. People become so attached to their ideas that they ignore better ideas. This is why I like the Philosophy of Infinity and the practice of Infinite Openmindedness.
Recognize that your pet idea is just one idea in a sea of infinite ideas, and it isn’t necessarily the best idea. Recognize that you might be wrong. Recognize that other people have lived complex lives, likely (more or less) as complex as yours; and other people are capable of intelligence, just like you; and other people are smart, sometimes smarter than you. Recognize that a Competitive and Free Market of Ideas will create an environment where the best ideas rise to the top, breeding better ideas. If we can all enter the Chamber of Debate, and leave our egos at the door, we will discover the greatest truths by merging our individual minds into a smarter collective mind.
So, to summarize, Absolute Peace is the eventual goal, but Peaceful Debate is what’s needed now.
Peaceful Debate means that we respect each other’s life experiences, we respect each other’s viewpoints, we live and let live, we don’t violently attack or insult other groups simply because they disagree with us.
“If you disagree with me, that’s fine. You can live on your land, and I’ll live on mine. We will go on with our lives, in peace. I won’t blow you up or shoot you down, and you won’t do so to me either. Yes, we may disagree, but we won’t raid each other’s homes and destroy each other’s families… simply because we disagree.” This is a more evolved standpoint.
12:03 PM.
We need a collective purpose, a collective goal. Humanity is a train-wreck right now. America, and her ideals, has been a global leader for decades, and now America is a clusterfuck.
Too many things get lost in translation between countries. Too many people and corporations are “beating the competition” rather than “working together to find the best solutions”. Too many people are power-hungry and egoic and not seeing the bigger picture. Too many people are afraid and confused and fearful of death; and when people are afraid and confused, they sometimes act defensively and violently.
Too many people are overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of media and information, much of which is not only pointless but is also damaging to one’s peace of mind. Too few people have taken the time to meditate and contemplate deeply the true nature of the universe.
Too many people are without mentors, without guidance. Too many people have so many questions, but no one to answer them.
This is why I want to be a Thought Leader. The world needs guidance, direction, stability, understanding, structure, philosophy, wisdom. But there doesn’t seem to be enough people distributing these things.
Wisdom hasn’t gone mainstream yet.
And will it ever go mainstream? This question has literally been debated for thousands of years. Ancient philosophers have written, including those who authored The Kybalion, that “the Truth is reserved for the brave few” and “the masses will never know the Truth” (or something along those lines).
But I’m an idealist. I disagree. I say: “Why not?” Why can’t we have the world we desire?
“But, Juvoci, you said” (in the last blog post) “that some people desire war!”
Yes, I did. But the desire for war is, in my estimation, a more superficial desire than the desire for peace.
I believe that, deep down, EVERYONE simply desires PEACE and HAPPINESS.
And those who pursue war, only do so because, deep down, they believe it will lead to PEACE and HAPPINESS.
In other words, people who wage war believe that war is the only option, the last resort, our only chance, for a peaceful world.
Of course, this is not the case, and is in fact completely wrong, completely opposite of the truth. This is the definition of evil, of devilry.
War only leads to more war.
When you wage war against someone, a grudge is formed. When you destroy a culture, destroy a family, destroy a people, they don’t forget, they get angry, they get depressed, and they label you “the devil”, they slowly and quietly rebuild their power, and then they come back to bite you.
And then you may say: “But what if you eradicate them completely so that they cannot ever return?” Sure, but then your people will remember what you did to those people. “Remember what our empire did to those people we destroyed? That was kind of messed up.” And then there is a deep collective regret in the population which must eventually be repented and made-up-for, lest the society be eaten alive from within by its own shame and guilt of its own violent history. And the cycle continues…
Just like, in your own personal life, you cannot purify, you cannot cleanse your soul, until you’ve repented for the evil you’ve done. Until then, your soul, your spirit, is broken, shattered, split.
The neuroticisms of a culture, a society, a nation, seep into the hearts of its citizens, and destroy it from within.
The most powerful thing that a leader can grant… is peace. Not dominance, not power, not wealth… peace.
But then there are the questions: What of that evil which lurks in the shadows? How do we defend against it? If we focus only on peace, won’t we be blind-sided by a secretive malevolent faction? If we focus only on peace, we won’t fund our militaries, and then we will be vulnerable to evil forces, right?
And this is true. Although I wish this were not the case, I cannot deny it. If we don’t keep our guard up, to some extent, then evil could once again overcome us.
Just as the sage must constantly remind herself of the Truth, society must remind itself of Evil. History repeats itself, so remember history.
So what does this mean for military funding?
On a material level, it means two things.
Firstly, we must prioritize defense over offense. Don’t develop military technology for the sake of attacking and conquering. Develop military technology for the sake of protecting.
Secondly, we must redefine our enemy. America’s enemy is not Russia or China. China’s enemy is not America or Japan. Australia’s enemy is not Russia or North Korea. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…
No, Humanity’s enemy is Chaos, Insanity. Humanity’s enemy is Ignorance, Violence, Immaturity, Ego. This is how we must redefine our enemy.
But let’s bring this, once again, to a spiritual level, a metaphysical level, to a level beyond materiality.
Ultimately, we are talking about FEAR. “What if Evil grows stronger while the rest of us are focusing on Peace? What if we detract from military funding and leave ourselves vulnerable and get destroyed by an evil faction? What if? What if? What if…?”
These are questions of fear.
FAITH over FEAR.
This is where my Thought Leadership re-enters.
We must all subscribe to a philosophy of Faith over Fear.
Now, this is easier said than done, obviously. And I’m not trying to claim that I’ve fully succeeded in this realm. I never claimed to be perfect. But it’s the direction I try to move in, and it’s the direction that I’m encouraging you to move in aswell.
What is Faith over Fear?
This is getting into some pretty deep spiritual and metaphysical areas, but I’ll do my best to explain, especially because many people who read this, who haven’t dived deeply into spirituality and metaphysics, might not exactly understand what I’m saying. But I’ll give it a shot.
Faith is a fundamental force of the universe. Now, I’m not talking about Christian Faith or Islamic Faith or Jewish Faith or Buddhist Faith or whatever. No. I’m talking about pure Faith. I’m talking about Faith as a fundamental, pure, force.
In fact, Faith is so fundamental to the Structure of Reality that, at a certain point, it becomes physical, it becomes material, it melds and merges into the physical world. Don’t believe me? Keep meditating.
Faith is the reason you wake up in the morning. Faith is the reason you’re able to walk on solid ground. Faith is what keeps the entire universe in motion. Faith is a fundamental force. We can call this concept FFF or F-Cubed. The fundamental force of faith. Maybe the FFF thing is dumb. I don’t know. Whatever, moving on. Lol. (If you’ve made it this far in the blog, take a moment to breathe and relax and recognize that nothing is like super serious necessarily.)
But, yeah, Faith is super important. Pure faith. You exist because you believe in your existence. Without that fundamental structure of belief (which is another way of saying Faith), your entire being would collapse and disintegrate into a vortex of chaos and structurelessness. Don’t believe me? Well, I wouldn’t recommend experimenting with this concept unless you’re truly a Master of the Mind… because this can be dangerous territory.
So why am I talking about Faith now? Because Faith over Fear. Faith is the antidote to Fear, and Faith is your savior.
Yes, Evil could be out there, plotting your demise. Yes, the Universe could implode suddenly and instantaneously, destroying everything and everyone you’ve ever known. Yes, an asteroid could land on New York City, killing millions. Yes, some rogue country *cough* could drop an atomic bomb and decimate Humanity. Yes, danger, danger, danger, fear, fear, fear, possibilities, possibilities, endless fearful possibilities.
But can’t you see? It goes on and on and on and on and on. The mind can think of infinite reasons to be afraid, to fear evil.
But here’s where Spirituality and Metaphysics swoop in and save the day…
FEAR CREATES EVIL.
Yes, literally, Fear creates Evil. No, even further… Fear is Evil.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt (allegedly) said (I wasn’t there): “We have nothing to fear but Fear itself.” This quote is actually quite wise. Well, it’s, like… almost wise. The only reason it isn’t completely wise is because it implies that we still have to fear something.
But the point is (or at least, the Truth that I see in the quote) that Fear is the enemy. And, from my experience with spirituality, Faith is the antidote to Fear. In other words, when your being is aligned in Faith, your “enemy” ceases to exist, because all is one and all is you and so all is in Faith.
These are pretty deep ideas; and if you don’t understand exactly what I’m saying, don’t worry. Just stick with me, and eventually you will understand.
:)
1:06 PM.
Okay, so, I feel like I’ve kind of beaten that topic to death. Let’s give it a rest for a little while. Let’s get back to that point about Philosophy.
In my last blog post, I said that Philosophy is dumb. But, obviously, I need to elaborate on this, not only because this statement will probably offend some percentage of people, but also because it’s a pretty vague statement.
So, what exactly do I mean? And why exactly am I saying this?
Firstly, let’s define Philosophy. Yesterday, I posted in two sub-Reddits (the Philosophy and AskPhilosophy sub-Reddits) asking the simple question: What is Philosophy?
Both of my posts got banned from those sub-Reddits. This is strange, and doesn’t make any sense to me. If your sub-Reddit is about Philosophy, then one of the most important questions on that sub-Reddit should be… What is Philosophy?
Duh?
But, for some reason, the moderators of those sub-Reddits thought such a question should not be on their sub-Reddits and so they removed it. And now, in my mind, these two sub-Reddits have lost some respect and credibility.
But, whatever, maybe that’s a signal that “What is Philosophy?” is a dumb and unnecessary question.
Perhaps I can define Philosophy simply by explaining why I think parts of it (not all of it) are dumb.
To me, Philosophy becomes dumb when it becomes about using big words, and how many philosophical terms you know, and arguing about the nature of reality, and choosing one side or one philosophy and being an ardent advocate of that one philosophy or opinion or perspective.
These aspects of “the Philosophy world” are dumb to me because they miss the point. Reality is infinite. The universe is infinite. There are infinite perspectives. Everyone’s life is different, and everyone’s unique life experiences lead them to believe certain things about reality.
You might be a staunch Atheist, but if one day you went to sleep and woke up in a garden where Krishna explained to you the metaphysical workings of the universe, and you existed in this garden for thousands of years, exploring the world of spirituality, before finally, eventually, after those thousands of years, returning back into your human body, to this human life… you might have second thoughts about your staunch Atheistic beliefs.
So who are you to say that someone who identifies as Hindu and has had a similar spiritual experience with Krishna is wrong? And likewise, who are they to say that someone who identifies as Atheist and hasn’t had any spiritual experiences, like you (the staunch Atheist)… is wrong?
See? Nobody is wrong. Everyone just has different life experiences.
So, whatever your Philosophy is, it isn’t right or wrong. It’s just one perspective of infinite perspectives.
A lot of philosophy is just preaching. Just rattling off complex names and concepts and big words, just arguing pointlessly about abstractions.
Real Philosophy is about listening. This is, if I am to make a distinction here, the difference between Philosophy and Wisdom. Philosophy literally means love of wisdom. But perhaps Love of Wisdom isn’t always the same as Wisdom itself, in the same way that you may “love” your spouse, but not necessarily treat them well, or know them well.
Arguing with people on Reddit (or any other forum), for example, about why your Philosophy is right… is a pretty deformed version of Philosophy, in my opinion. If you want to grow as a philosopher, if you want to grow more wise, spend more time listening and asking questions, rather than preaching. Then, if someone asks you a question, you can expound your knowledge.
Philosophy has been dubbed “a science” by many individuals and institutions. But one of the problems with modern Science, in my opinion, is over-categorization.
Science creates categories upon categories upon categories, dividing and dividing and dividing. Now, don’t get me wrong, there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with categorization. In fact, there isn’t even anything necessarily wrong with over-categorization.
In some sense, excess categorization is the natural evolution of language and quantifiable knowledge. As our understanding of the world becomes more and more nuanced, we naturally will create more and more terms and thus categories for explaining and identifying it.
The problem arises when we begin identifying with our identifiers. When a scientist or philosopher says “I am a Materialist” or “I am an Existentialist” or “I am a Stoic”, they are missing the point of Philosophy and Science, in my opinion.
This is the problem with Identity. When you identify with one finite piece of an infinite reality, you inherently limit yourself. Better to have as small of an identity as possible, and simply observe reality. To me, this is what Philosophy and Science are truly about. Egoless observation of reality, in the name of Truth.
2:02 PM.
Okay, I’ve been writing on and off for awhile I’m gonna take a break and do something else. Be back later, maybe.
:)
This blog can be read in its entirety on JUVOCI.com.
