Don’t Believe Everything.

“Do not believe anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” 
— Buddha*

Whether the originator of this quote was actually Buddha is apparently debatable (hence the asterisk), but the truth behind each of the statements made still remains, regardless.  What’s basically being discussed in this quote is logical fallacies, and I’ve been wanting to blog on some of those for a while now.  (;

So, as for the first sentence – do not believe anything simply because you have heard it –  it isn’t (to my knowledge) a named logical fallacy, but I would hope it’s pretty self-evident that you should not believe things simply because you heard them somewhere.  That would be the definition of gullibility and would leave you believing everything, which would inevitably lead to many contradictions in your brain and probably leave you feeling pretty unhappy with yourself.

”Do not believe anything simply because it is rumored by many” is referring to the appeal of popularity, or ad populum.  Believing things just because everyone else does is a fallacy because an idea being popular does not make it somehow truer.  False ideas have, throughout the course of history, been very popular, like demon possession causing illnesses and mental disease, the earth being flat, and human sacrifices having some kind of measurable effect on our natural and physical environment.  Clearly, somebody’s opinion can not be invalid solely because it is not the same as everybody else’s.

The next two lines in the quote are essentially talking about two very similar logical fallacies that both show an over-reliance on a perceived-as-true source.  The first – believing things simply because they are in your religious books – is the fallacy of blind loyalty.  It means you are overly trusting of your sources, to the point where you believe things simply because of where they came from.  Right after that, you have the appeal to authority mentioned, which is claiming certain things as true simply because the person who originally claimed them is in a position of “authority.”  People in positions of authority are no more likely to tell the truth than anybody else, and, in fact, they are rather notorious for using their power to tell and sell lies.  The president of this country in 1998 made the statement, on-camera, that he “did not have sexual relations with that woman.”  Well, as we all know, that statement didn’t turn out to be true.

The last fallacy that thou shalt not commit according to this quote is the appeal to tradition.  We should not do things simply because that’s how it’s “always been done” or because it’s “worked best so far.”  On the other side of this fallacy, you have the appeal to novelty, which is saying that something is right or good simply because it is new.

So, how are we to come to believe things if not in the aforementioned ways?  Well, I agree with the quote that careful observation, thorough analysis and – in my words – unbiased reason are faculties that everybody would do well to practice.  What should we be striving for in doing these things?  Again, I completely agree with what Buddha* said in that we should be focused on creating a society which is conducive to our common good, but without losing sight of individual rights in the process – “the benefit of One and all,” as the quote puts it.

There are, of course, many more logical fallacies out there that could not possibly all be covered in this post, so I highly recommend looking into those if you have not done so before.  People believing in so many illogical untruths, as discussed in this post, is a large part of why the world has all the issues that it has today.  Though I am pretty adamant about the powers of love, it is good to note that in absence of truth, love can not love at all (I think the new age movement promotes a lot of this, but that’s for another post).

So, here’s to truth!  And from there on, love. 

I hope you all have a wonder-full day.  ❤

Related Posts: the Matrix., Speaking the Truth
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Sources:  Wikipedia, YourLogicalFallacyIs.com, Master List of Logical Fallacies

the Matrix.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it – always.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Everywhere I look I see lies.

I see magazines lying to little kids about what Real Men and Women Are.  I see the News media lying to middle-class white people about what’s going on in the world.  I see grown adults lying to little children about everything you can imagine.

I see lies about the government.  Lies about terrorism.   Lies about food, drugs and alcohol.  Lies about Muslims.  Lies about Japan.  Lies about Marijuana.

There are lies about money.  Lies about where our money comes from.  Lies about the economy.  Lies about religion, and lies about atheism.  Lies about the Left, and lies about the Right; lies about extremists, anarchists, libertarians, independents and I-don’t-give-a-fxcks.

There are lies about oil.  Lies about the environment.  And lies about the weather.  Lies about technology, and lies about nature.  Lies about animals.  Lies about knowledge.  And intelligence.  And lies like “everybody’s stupid.” 

There are lies about gender roles, and lies about sexuality.  There are lies about What Matters, and lies about Love.  There are lies about human nature.  Lies about beauty and peace and satisfaction and happiness; lies about mental illness and lies about sanity.  Lies about what is normal.  Lies about consciousness.  Lies about what we are capable of and what we aren’t capable of. 

It’s all lies, and it’s all a distraction.  YOU are the author of your story.  You ARE in charge of your life.  You CAN do great, amazing things – if only you set your mind to it.

You can change the World.  YOU can CHANGE the WORLD.  Most people don’t want to accept this, because that would mean they’d actually have to do something.  It means breaking free of the matrix that has been set up to keep our minds imprisoned, and we’ve gotten pretty comfortable there. 

But I promise you the TRUTH is so much more exciting, intriguing, and satisfying than anything could be over in that comfort zone of lies.  Our hearts are longing for truth, and once they catch a glimpse of it, the game is over.  The matrix will no longer satisfy. 

People are desperate for something more Real than this materialistic existence we’ve somehow confused with Life.  Don’t let the lies fool you!  We aren’t all happy consumers, and we’re beginning to see that we have the power to change things.  The house of lies is crumbling, and things are changing. 

Ignorance won’t always be bliss.  All these lies won’t always be “Truth.”  

We are learning.  We are opening our eyes.  

There’s a reason I put this in the title of my page — we are Evolving. (;

Love
❤

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*P.S.:  Check out the “About EL” page for a little more insight into this post. (:

Speaking the Truth.

”Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.” – Unknown

Voicing a controversial opinion on a controversial subject is a lot harder than you’d think it would be in America in 2013.  We’re all about “Freedom of Speech,” but forget that persecution for speaking your mind can come from places Other than just the Government.  We can do just as much persecuting ourselves, and we often do. As a result, the majority of Americans are afraid to have an opinion on anything that goes against the “status quo.”  People who think for themselves are seen as crazy because we don’t feel the need to please other people with our life and beliefs.  Such a heresy!

But I just wanted to say… try being Real for a bit, regardless of what you assume people are thinking.  Speak Your Truth, even when it is hard, and I’ll do the same. Remember that when you speak the Truth about things that you feel, there will always be naysayers.  They think they have something to gain from the many lies that are propagated on a regular basis, but they don’t!  Show them that the Light side is the Right side, and that the world can be a much better place if we just learn to be Real and Honest with each other and stop putting people down all the time. 

Do what you want to do,
Say what you want to say,
Express how you really Feel,
Admit when you’re Wrong,
and Tell people about your Struggles.

Lastly – don’t ever, ever be afraid.

Speak the truth, even when your voice shakes.
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