Why Not Believing in Anything is Absolute Freedom

via fractal enlightenment

“You do not believe; you only believe that you believe.” ~ Samuel Coleridge

I’m about to cutoff one of the intellectual giants of human history… Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, you have the floor: “None are more enslaved than those who believe…” Stop right there, Monsieur Goethe! He was about to say “…they are free.” But that’s irrelevant, governing the nature of his premise. It is belief in anything that makes men slaves. Allow me to explain: Belief tends to trap our thoughts into tiny nutshells. It can even trap entire realities into the finite space of a nutshell. These nutshells are filled with snakes eating their own tails. These snakes are never allowed any nourishment (knowledge) from outside the shell, because everything outside the shell is dangerous, poisonous, scary, and unknown. These snakes become suppressed by their own oppression, and they have a tendency to become neurotic “snakes in the head.” In such a state of anxious fear, we’re inclined to maintain the hardness of the shell so as to remain comfortable and secure. When we cling to the nutshell of our belief, we are declaring that our comfort is more important than Truth. Inside the nutshell, we’re more willing to remain comfortable and free of fear than to risk the discomfort of being wrong or facing the fear of the unknown. Even if that comfort means we’re forced to eat our own tail or end up with snakes in our head. Our belief must remain rigid and inflexible, because otherwise all that dangerous, scary unknown knowledge might get inside and mess things up. We must not risk vulnerability. We must maintain our faith. But, as Terrence McKenna said, “If you believe in something, you are automatically precluded from believing its opposite.” This is the epitome of close mindedness, because our belief closes us off from even considering another person’s belief. It cuts off empathy and harbors apathy.

Even worse, it prevents us from living an examined life. Indeed, belief is the antithesis to an examined life precisely because our beliefs are somehow exempt from examination. When really our beliefs should be the first thing we question. Taking things into consideration, that is to say philosophy, can help us with this. Like Bertrand Russell said, “Thus, to sum up our discussion of the value of philosophy; Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation.”

Not believing in anything is absolute freedom precisely because neither our intellect nor our imagination are diminished by the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation. Not believing in anything frees us to take everything into consideration. We become logically liberated, scientifically set free, and our rationality is relieved. Healthy skepticism and an intimacy with probability become our shifting bedrock, our foundational quicksand. We’re free to swim in the waters of uncertainty rather than remain chained to the pillars of certainty. When it comes down to it, letting go of belief is allowing ourselves the freedom of being wrong. It’s finally admitting that we are a species that is profoundly fallible and prone to mistakes. It’s understanding, as Kathryn Schulz said, “Whether we wrongly think we can see or wrongly remember what we did on September 11, whether we are mistaken about pantyhose or string theory, what we are ultimately wrong about is always a belief. If we want to understand how we err, we need to look to how we believe.” Indeed. My believing in the Flying Spaghetti Monster gets me nowhere, except maybe entertained. Better to simply take it into consideration as a silly belief that some people might have, and then laugh at it. Laugh at myself. Poke holes in my faith. Question why I might believe that “his noodly appendages will save me from my sins.” Or why I insist on wearing a colander for a hat. As with all things, a good sense of humor can set us free.

Taking things into consideration is far superior to believing in things precisely because we are a fallible species. We happen to be a species with a big brain, which gives us a false sense of security that we have discovered answers to complex questions. But when it comes down to it we’re merely big-brained naked apes fumbling and stumbling through a vast cosmos of which we have barely even scratched the surface. Our human understanding of reality is more akin to a Planck-length balancing on a quark, teetering on an electron, wobbling on an atom, wavering on a molecule, which is precariously positioned upon an ice cube on the tip of an iceberg that we can hardly even begin to fathom. And that’s okay.

That is why we must take things into consideration rather than believe in things. Belief is limiting. Taking things into consideration is limitless. Belief is mental slavery. Taking things into consideration is mental liberation. As I wrote in Bertrand Russel’s Ten Commandments of Higher Teaching, “caveat credentis: believer beware. Instead of believing in things, take things into consideration. It is quite simple to alter considerations. But it’s almost impossible to alter beliefs.” This is because of cognitive dissonance. None of us are free from the clutches of this particular mental stressor. Best not to have a belief at all. Best to take things into consideration using probability as a guide. Best to embrace cognitive dissonance, to dive into the unforgiving waters, to relish in its discomfort, to feel the burn of being a fallible, prone-to-mistakes, imperfect, naked ape going through the vain and futile motions of attempting to pigeonhole infinity into finite constructs. We’re bound to come out the other side wielding a mind open to possibility, and a heart burning with a humor of the most high. Like Gerry Spence said, “I’d rather have a mind open by wonder than one closed by belief.” If, as Anaïs Nin said, “We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.” Then my first act of free will shall be not to believe in free will at all, but rather, take it into consideration as a more conducive stance toward attaining truth. I won’t “believe” in Time, because Time only perceptually exists; where actually it does not. But so what? I’ll refuse to “believe” in Truth, instead I will attempt to maintain a strong faith in human fallibility. Sitting on a bench will be the only time that I predicate a benchmark, but even the bench will be subject to questioning. Like Douglas Adams quipped, “I don’t believe it. Prove it to me and I still won’t believe it.” Indeed. Prove me to myself, and I still won’t “believe” it. Because I could be an illusion, even to myself. Although I will take it into consideration over almost anything else because of the laws of probability. After all, I probably do exist. Here’s the thing: We live in a world where beliefs are rampant. Beliefs seemingly keep us grounded. So it’s understandable why we have them. After all, without belief it seems as though we’d all go crazy. But the opposite seems to be more the case. It is belief –especially unquestioned beliefs– that makes people go crazy.

Like Voltaire said, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Indeed. It’s because of unquestioned beliefs that people drop bombs on other people. It’s because of unquestioned beliefs that people commit genocide. It’s because of unquestioned beliefs that the KKK is at war with everything not Aryan.

But, as Guy Harrison advised, “Hate the belief, love the believer.” Taking things into consideration, rather than believing in things, sets us free. It opens us up. Not just our minds, but our hearts as well. When we hate the belief but love the believer, we are empathizing with the human condition itself. We’re rising above the pettiness of the lizard brain’s fight-or-flight need for comfort. We’re elevating ourselves to a state of heightened awareness where we are able to utilize our evolved mind and trump our primitive brain. We’re transcending the outdated lower frequencies with updated higher frequencies. Not believing in anything is absolute freedom because we’re able to magically rise above the silliness of it all. We’re able to see how everything is connected to everything else and how attempting to stuff infinity into the finite nutshell of a belief is done in vain. It’s perhaps the vainest act of all. Better not to be vain in the first place. Better to stay where the magic is. Better to remain in a state of constant awe, in love with the moment, bewildered and astonished by the grandeur of the unknown. Better to be like a humorous magician insouciantly daring to pull it all out of a hat. Imagination free. Intellect untethered. Love unmoored. Humor dethroning all kings –be they kings of mind, body, or soul. Unlimited by belief, but limited by cosmic limits –whatever they may be. And Voilà tout! Magic becomes a real possibility.

Alan Watts: The Difference Between Belief and Faith

via BrainPickings

A century and a half before Carl Sagan explored the relationship between science and religion, Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer, contemplated the subject in a beautiful letter. Two centuries later, Alan Lightman crafted an enchanting definition of secular spirituality. This question has also been addressed by Albert Einstein in answering a little girl’s question about whether scientists pray, Flannery O’Connor in considering dogma, belief, and the difference between religion and faith, and Jane Goodall in her exquisite conversation with Bill Moyers on science and spirituality — and yet the question is, and perhaps is bound to remain, an open one.

One of the most articulate and lucid attempts to answer it comes from Alan Watts, who popularized Eastern philosophy in the West, in his fantastic 1951 book The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety (public library) — the same treasure trove of insight that gave us Watts on happiness and how to live a full life and his prescient admonition about our modern media gluttony.

 Watts writes:

"We must here make a clear distinction between belief and faith, because, in general practice, belief has come to mean a state of mind which is almost the opposite of faith. Belief, as I use the word here, is the insistence that the truth is what one would “lief” or wish it to be. The believer will open his mind to the truth on the condition that it fits in with his preconceived ideas and wishes. Faith, on the other hand, is an unreserved opening of the mind to the truth, whatever it may turn out to be. Faith has no preconceptions; it is a plunge into the unknown. Belief clings, but faith lets go. In this sense of the word, faith is the essential virtue of science, and likewise of any religion that is not self-deception.

[…]

The present phase of human thought and history … almost compels us to face reality with open minds, and you can only know God through an open mind just as you can only see the sky through a clear window. You will not see the sky if you have covered the glass with blue paint.

But “religious” people who resist the scraping of the paint from the glass, who regard the scientific attitude with fear and mistrust, and confuse faith with clinging to certain ideas, are curiously ignorant of laws of the spiritual life which they might find in their own traditional records. A careful study of comparative religion and spiritual philosophy reveals that abandonment of belief, of any clinging to a future life for one’s own, and of any attempt to escape from finitude and mortality, is a regular and normal stage in the way of the spirit. Indeed, this is actually such a “first principle” of the spiritual life that it should have been obvious from the beginning, and it seems, after all, surprising that learned theologians should adopt anything but a cooperative attitude towards the critical philosophy of science."

The Wisdom of Insecurity is the kind of book that stays with you for life. Complement it with Watts on money vs. wealth and your ego, the universe, and becoming who you really are.

Scientists claim they can change your belief on immigrants and God – with MAGNETS

 via The Express:

ATTITUDES towards God and immigrants can be changed by beaming magnetic waves into the brain, scientists have claimed.

A bizarre experiment claims to be able to make Christians no longer believe in God and make Britons open their arms to migrants in experiments some may find a threat to their values.

Scientists looked at how the brain resolves abstract ideological problems.

Using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), researchers safely shut down certain groups of neurones in the brains of volunteers.

TMS, which is used to treat depression, involves placing a large electromagnetic coil against the scalp which creates electric currents that stimulate nerve cells in the region of the brain involved in mood control.

Researchers found the technique radically altered religious perceptions and prejudice.

Belief in God was reduced almost by a third, while participants became 28.5 per cent less bothered by immigration numbers.

Dr Keise Izuma, from the University of York, said: "People often turn to ideology when they are confronted by problems.

"We wanted to find out whether a brain region that is linked with solving concrete problems, like deciding how to move one's body to overcome an obstacle, is also involved in solving abstract problems addressed by ideology."

The scientists targeted the posterior medial frontal cortex, a brain region a few inches up from the forehead that is associated with detecting and responding to problems.

Volunteers were asked to rate their belief in God, heaven, the devil, and hell after undergoing pre-screening to ensure that they held religious convictions.

Dr Izuma said: "We decided to remind people of death because previous research has shown that people turn to religion for comfort in the face of death.

"As expected, we found that when we experimentally turned down the posterior medial frontal cortex, people were less inclined to reach for comforting religious ideas despite having been reminded of death."

The American participants were also shown two essays written by newly arrived immigrants - one highly complimentary of the US and the other extremely critical.

Dr Izuma said: "When we disrupted the brain region that usually helps detect and respond to threats, we saw a less negative, less ideologically motivated reaction to the critical author and his opinions."

The research, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, suggests our brains use the same basic mental pathways to solve practical problems such as following directions or ideological issues such as immigration and religion.

Lead author Dr Colin Holbrook, form the the University of California at Los Angeles, said: "These findings are very striking, and consistent with the idea that brain mechanisms that evolved for relatively basic threat-response functions are re-purposed to also produce ideological reactions."

Quotes from Robert Anton Wilson

Every war results from the struggle for markets and spheres of influence, and every war is sold to the public by professional liars and totally sincere religious maniacs, as a Holy Crusade to save God and Goodness from Satan and Evil.


Most animals, including most domesticated primates (humans) show a truly staggering ability to "ignore" certain kinds of information — that which does not "fit" their imprinted/conditioned reality-tunnel.


"Mind" is a tool invented by the universe to see itself; but it can never see all of itself, for much the same reason that you can’t see your own back…


I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions.


Everyone has a belief system, B.S., the trick is to learn not to take anyone's B.S. too seriously, especially your own.


I don't believe anything I write or say. I regard belief as a form of brain damage, the death of intelligence, the fracture of creativity, the atrophy of imagination. I have opinions but no Belief System (B.S.)


Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence.


Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.


If you think you know what the hell is going on, you're probably full of shit.