being GAY.

[musclebrains]

Right now Im reading The Seat Of The Soul, by Gary Zoukoff. Its alright. He has insightfull understanding of why the human race is predisposed to inter species conflict and suffering ect..... but he also assumes unprovable theistic docterines like reincarnation, something I dont beleive in. But hey, its a decent book.

I am surprised to hear you are reading this book. What exactly is it that you like about it?

 

[dballer]

I always call ahead. I live less than a mile from them and, although I like Matt's barbecue, I think his ribs are way fatty compared to Daddy Dz.

What I haven't been able to find lately is NC-style barbecue, made with a vinegar/mustard base like my uncle, King of the Outer Banks Barbecue, used to make. Dusty's used to be NC-style but reverted to using tomatoes and ketchup.

I tell you whose sucks and that's Sonny's on Cheshire Bridge. Big garbage.

I am gonna give Factory's a shot.. I work right up the street.

My favorite is also the Carolina style.. hands down. I cook alot.. I made some BBQ with a sauce made from mustard, vinegar.. but I added dried Ancho peppers... I also made one with a Roasted Plobano & Brown Sugar carmalization cooked onto the roast before I chopped it. It was good.

Here is a PERFECT place for NC BBQ....
from where you live... go 20E to Thorton Rd. stay to the right and at the top of the Exit Ramp take a right. Get in the left lane. Go to the top of the hill past the QT and begin to look for the BBQ place next to the Wendy's.

This is my secret weapon... when someone takes me out for BBQ.. I can always shoot it down with this place... Ace In The Hole...

 

[buddy28]

I am surprised to hear you are reading this book. What exactly is it that you like about it?

y are u surprised? Had me pegged for a Christian fundamentalist?

Well, a relative gave it to me for christimas, and id feel guilty if I didnt read it.
To be honest, Im only on page 100, but I see some underlying themes postulated by Zoukoff that are consistent with my own beleifs:

1) the human race engages in interspecies conflict to horde power. To the 5 sensory human, or the unenlightened human, external power is the source of confidence, pride, and security. Essientially, external power, to the 5 sensory human, conveys the worth of an individual. If an individual possess little resources, their worth is inherently less than others. Therefore, their continued exploitation, be it economic, social, or cultural, can be justified to serve the benefit of the ruling class.

That point is very true. History has shown that the ruling class has little reverence for their fellow human beings (another concept Zoukov addresss i agree with, reverence for humanity bit), which has feuled colionial exploitation, the slave trade, and world wars. Although not all conflicts are fueled by a complete lack of disrespect for other humans, (countries are forced to defend themselves from aggressing nations), most wars are feuled by the underlying assumption that outgroup membership insinuates reduced human worth.

I dont beleive in reincarnation. Zoukov talks extensivily about how the human soul is undergoing an evolutionary process where its life experiences are meant to complete its growth to a divine standard. Ive got no problems with the human soul undergoing a "spiritual evolution" if you will, but because Im Christian, I beleive it takes place in only one cycle of our mortal exsistence.

I think Zoukov made some interesting points about how the soul, being fragmented in certain characteristics, is given a body, and a unique personality that furthers the growth of the souls "weak points". However, there are some moral problems associated with assuming each person is undergoing "just treatment" for previous actions committed in another reincarnation. One of the problems associated with assuming every persons life experience, no matter how torturus, is just, discourages personal motivation in finding a cure for another persons suffering, as opposed to the motivation created when a person assumes some of lifes indignaties are caused by events uncontrollable to the sufferer. . IF a person adopts a karmic philiosphy of human suffering, not only does it become difficult for a person to be inspired to heal the suffering of the masses because the inflicted suffering is somehow "just", but it becomes equally hard for the suffering to ever end. Why? Evil begets evil. If a person is punished for a previous lifes actions, their actions, usually in the next life, will consist in a large part of hurting others, since they are hurting themselves. Those people go and hurt others, and the cycle never ends. I suppose if people experiencing negative life events managed to help more people than they hurt, then the net karmic deficit of the entire human race could be turned around. After experiecing some 10,000 years of recorded human evolution, this hasnt happened yet. Perhaps because humans havent reached the transitionary juncture from 5 sensory to multisensory experience?

I dont know. Ill let u know when i finish the book.

 

[runner]

note to self: avoid gary zukav.

 

[gorilla_boy]

I really have nothing to contribute. Just looking for a reason to post this wickedly sexy pic again.

Flame away. (pun fully intended)

 

[musclebrains]

y are u surprised? Had me pegged for a Christian fundamentalist?

Well, a relative gave it to me for christimas, and id feel guilty if I didnt read it.
To be honest, Im only on page 100, but I see some underlying themes postulated by Zoukoff that are consistent with my own beleifs:

1) the human race engages in interspecies conflict to horde power. To the 5 sensory human, or the unenlightened human, external power is the source of confidence, pride, and security. Essientially, external power, to the 5 sensory human, conveys the worth of an individual. If an individual possess little resources, their worth is inherently less than others. Therefore, their continued exploitation, be it economic, social, or cultural, can be justified to serve the benefit of the ruling class.

That point is very true. History has shown that the ruling class has little reverence for their fellow human beings (another concept Zoukov addresss i agree with, reverence for humanity bit), which has feuled colionial exploitation, the slave trade, and world wars. Although not all conflicts are fueled by a complete lack of disrespect for other humans, (countries are forced to defend themselves from aggressing nations), most wars are feuled by the underlying assumption that outgroup membership insinuates reduced human worth.

I dont beleive in reincarnation. Zoukov talks extensivily about how the human soul is undergoing an evolutionary process where its life experiences are meant to complete its growth to a divine standard. Ive got no problems with the human soul undergoing a "spiritual evolution" if you will, but because Im Christian, I beleive it takes place in only one cycle of our mortal exsistence.

I think Zoukov made some interesting points about how the soul, being fragmented in certain characteristics, is given a body, and a unique personality that furthers the growth of the souls "weak points". However, there are some moral problems associated with assuming each person is undergoing "just treatment" for previous actions committed in another reincarnation. One of the problems associated with assuming every persons life experience, no matter how torturus, is just, discourages personal motivation in finding a cure for another persons suffering, as opposed to the motivation created when a person assumes some of lifes indignaties are caused by events uncontrollable to the sufferer. . IF a person adopts a karmic philiosphy of human suffering, not only does it become difficult for a person to be inspired to heal the suffering of the masses because the inflicted suffering is somehow "just", but it becomes equally hard for the suffering to ever end. Why? Evil begets evil. If a person is punished for a previous lifes actions, their actions, usually in the next life, will consist in a large part of hurting others, since they are hurting themselves. Those people go and hurt others, and the cycle never ends. I suppose if people experiencing negative life events managed to help more people than they hurt, then the net karmic deficit of the entire human race could be turned around. After experiecing some 10,000 years of recorded human evolution, this hasnt happened yet. Perhaps because humans havent reached the transitionary juncture from 5 sensory to multisensory experience?

I dont know. Ill let u know when i finish the book.

I liked Zukav's first book, the Dancing Woo Woos (or something). It was about new physics.

I've found his subsequent work superficial. The idea that humankind is necessarily on a moral or spritually evolutionary path is dubious, wishful thinking. History discloses the way we charge ahead and fall back into the dark ages repeatedly. It's always tempting to say that, even still, we move ahead by increments, but I'm not sure any philosopher has said anything much more profund than Aristotle or Plato and I doubt that any wisdom as deep as the Buddha's -- he prefigured quantum theory -- has emerged in the last thousand years. The Holocaust may have been the most evil moment in recorded history but occurred in modernity.

I think the New Age tends to distort the doctrine of karma for narcissistic purposes and to excuse the absence of a social conscience. But compassion, embodied in the figure of the bodhisattva, is the highest value in Buddhism. The bodhisattva delays the end of his own samsara until "the last blade of grass" has been enlightened. "Navel gazing" has a much greater role in the American understanding of Buddhism than in the world where it has been traditionally practiced.

I don't think there's much difference between Buddhism and Christianity, myself, unless numbers matter a lot.

 

[buddy28]

I liked Zukav's first book, the Dancing Woo Woos (or something). It was about new physics.

I havent read Zukov's first book. Wouldnt mind reading it.

I've found his subsequent work superficial. The idea that humankind is necessarily on a moral or spritually evolutionary path is dubious, wishful thinking.

Very true.

History discloses the way we charge ahead and fall back into the dark ages repeatedly. It's always tempting to say that, even still, we move ahead by increments, but I'm not sure any philosopher has said anything much more profund than Aristotle or Plato and I doubt that any wisdom as deep as the Buddha's -- he prefigured quantum theory -- has emerged in the last thousand years. The Holocaust may have been the most evil moment in recorded history but occurred in modernity.

I dont know ancient history well, but it seems consistent that human moral evolution, or spiritual evolution, is two steps forward, one step back - at least concerning human history Im aware of. The adoption of the rule of law, however unjustly applied, is a great step forward from arbitrary prosecution by governing bodies. Democratic states also represent a huge leap forward from oppressive monarchial dictatorships. Funny thing is, with the advent of growing economic disparity between 1st world and 3rd world nations (thank you World Bank, IMF, Free Trade Agreements negiotiated by the US, and the greedy human spirit) + proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, were going to see an increase in global terrorism and regional conflicts. This in turn, will prompt tighter security measures, ie anti terrorism legislation, that restrict civilian liberties American forefathers fought so hard to attain. Already in place are global survillence systems headed by the NSA that intercept, filter through, and record, millions of telecommunications and electronic transmissions simultenously. People dont realise, but with increasing computer hardware and software sophistication, the government has the ability to target, monitor, and track, every person who participates in electronic communications. The "Net" is already in place. What happens when the next big terrorist attack occurs? Tighten down civilian liberties, increase domestic survillence of civilians to offsett the lack of human intelligence normally collected by retired feild agents (cold war downsizing), and de-arm the american public. Not that Im a big proponet of self protection with side arms, but handguns represent the single most serious threat to increased American government control of the civilian population.

Its amazing to think that this would ever happen considering the founding fathers earnst desire to create a democratic nation whose civil liberties are to be protected at all costs. But like history has shown, the ruling class always attempt to maintain existing "social order" that perpetuates their rule. Americas global hegemony rests in its economic affluence. Global conflict and domestic terrorism seriously comprimise the efficent functioning of the global economy, and undermine domestic consumer confidence, respecitivly. Peace is good for business. War is not, unless ur a third party country whose only selling military equipment, not participating in armed conflict.

So domestic terror attacks, and perceived global threats, however contrived by the American media, based on possibly "manicured" NSA and CIA foreign intelligence reports, will serve the *dual use* of justifying restrictions in civilian liberties. Increased control = decreased conflict. Decreased conflict = economic prosperity. If you can catch the perpetrator before the act is committed (be it hacker, mafia, domestic miltia groups, international terrorists, or "rouge" states), consumer confidence is saved, and economic security is insured. Survillence targeting the domestic, then global population insures anonmity of potentially violent political dissent is uncovered, and foiled. When economic security is insured through the reduction of domestic and foreign conflict, existing social order is maintained. The status quo lives another day. Mission accomplished.

This is the bread and butter of the workings of our government. Well, yours [US], but mine is a one trick poney. "Yes sir uncle sam, our economy depends on urs, we'll do whatever the fuck u say, SIR! "

Perhaps I am scaring you. I could elaborate, but Ur a smart dude. Perhaps u can see the patterns forming here. Can u see where that book u referenced about social psychological mechanisms used by the US Federal government to persuade civilians into agreement, or at least complasence, fits in? It gets very very scary. National ID cards further reduce privacy. Scientists have just developed bioelectronic identification devices, smaller than 3mm. The future is 1984 with color.

I think the New Age tends to distort the doctrine of karma for narcissistic purposes and to excuse the absence of a social conscience.

Yes. I was trying to get at this, but forgot "social conscience" existed in my vocabulary. thats exactly why I dont like the idea of reincarnation, because it somehow justifies earthly suffering. its ridiculous and arbitrary.

But compassion, embodied in the figure of the bodhisattva, is the highest value in Buddhism. The bodhisattva delays the end of his own samsara until "the last blade of grass" has been enlightened. "Navel gazing" has a much greater role in the American understanding of Buddhism than in the world where it has been traditionally practiced.

I don't think there's much difference between Buddhism and Christianity, myself, unless numbers matter a lot.

I cant comment on Buddism, because I dont know alot about it. One distinction between Buddism and Christianity is this: Christ claimed that he was the *only* way to God. Not to be a shit disturber, but thats what the man said.

 

[Pamela]

Are gays more self-destructive because of a sense of isolation, a sense of never being able to live up to family expectations......do many gay men just simply self-destruct?

Ryan.

I think ALL people have different stresses in their lives;
that causes self-destruction.
Some handle it in different ways, drinking, drugs, eating, sex & etc.
This just covers up what the stresses really are that's eating at them..

When people are so tired of fighting what life has handed them, they
think about change or more seriously, suicide. And also adding more to
the situation, drugs, drinking etc. confuses the person even more.
The more confused the person, the more likly he will commet suicide.


Sorry to here about your friend Ryan...

Pamela



I