HughJ

Russia is prepared to restore full diplomatic relations Seems we're off to a good start if you ask me

Welp that's over Back to memes I guess? Or is it too soon...

Very long boiling hot showers

Whoa this is getting a little heated I understand you want to help out the guy who got blindsided by the anti-Trump train but let's not go jamais vu on "tolerance" and give people's opinion's vague classifications like "smart-ass" No amount of discussion is going to swing anyone's opinion at this point, so tonight will be just as much of an online shouting match as every other night The best we can do is to see if people are actually secure in their convictions from a logical standpoint

This mommy-knows-best attitude is what's killing the conservative minority What you're doing is libel You just said The Swordsman decided to vote for bigotry, ignorance, and a lack of understanding Again with this attitude that you think you know what's going through the mind of all Trump supporters This isn't Pacific Rim, the entire Trump candidacy isn't supported by some hivemind, it's individuals making a choice because of their own life story

Oversimplification and hypocrisy is all the rage these days I better hop on the bandwagon Everyone who likes Froot Loops is a criminal. See me in the streets

I'm putting this on hiatus for a few days. Thanks to everyone who has submitted responses thus far. Here is the current wait list: 56leon NickCrash Fantasy Warlock Maelstrom Strider Jelly Bluewolf MirrorTrick Amethyst EliteFlyingTaco Alaris At this point I won't be taking any further submissions, once these guys are through I'll be done. Thanks to everyone who has responded.

Perhaps it's the individualist in me that wouldn't be able to accept Advaita faith - to be a part of a collective consciousness beyond mortal comprehension is a humbling premise, but it's something I wouldn't want to be a part of, in a similar vein that I would not want to go to Hell OR Heaven. In joining the Paramātma, it seems in line with all I know about Hinduism that a person would lose their individuality, in all senses. They would become part of something greater, and in the eyes of the Hindu, shed their limited form, limited knowledge, and limited experience. But to me, this is a cost, not a benefit. Limitations - even every human's inability to know for sure what lies outside their mind, or their inability to live forever, or their inability to know anything are what characterize us. Our unique patterns of knowledge and lifestyle are integral parts of our identity, not to mention the soul I believe exists within a person. To turn in everything up to and including your own soul so as to gain infinite knowledge, life, and power would still be to sacrifice the individual Will. I imagine I would lean toward the Dvaita school, both for this objectively foolish conviction that the individual life is the only life worth living, and for your proposed reason, that equating God to a human is both terribly arrogant and nonsensical by definition. At the same time, however, I must admit that I love the idea of a great soul occupying the Earth - if it is not THE God, the omnipotent and omnipresent Universal Energy you described earlier, then perhaps it is a soul greater than humans' yet limited in power. A local God, of sorts. Then, should we discover another nest of intelligent life, another planet in outer space which features persons (who I define, as part of my philosophy, a soul-filled vessel); they would have their own local God, a planet filled with a great soul originating from the same imperceptible, inexplicable realm as our own souls.

Thanks for explaining. I've never taken a class on Hinduism and am not well-versed in faith traditions, nor can I say I am worldly as I have not even visited India as a tourist. I did get the feeling that to simplify "Hinduism" into a single word and aim to define it was an oversimplification, but I wasn't aware explicitly of its true multifaceted nature. When I mentioned untouchability it wasn't a jab at Hinduism, it was a perceived flaw in the idea of "reward-based reincarnation." I understood Your explanation of reincarnation and the progression/regression of souls according to their abidance by their Dharma sounds much more righteous. I also like the idea of God as Mother Energy, an incomprehensible entity beyond our understanding. The idea of such an entity, operating on what I assume would be a set of laws she created for herself, is reminiscent of the perception of God as the soul of the Earth - a soul infinitely larger than a human being's, occupying a vessel so massive as the Earth so as to create a stage upon which our infinitesimal human dramas could play out.

I can comment on the unjust/just discussion another time, but for now, here's my response from The Wasteland regarding my belief system: It's a mix of Rastafari, Judaism, and Quakerism (3 big influences in my life); and bits and pieces from everywhere else. I believe people have souls that exist outside the parameters of this world, and operate chiefly through human bodies - although other vessels, after reaching a certain state of complexity, could also hold a soul; and likewise, human bodies that become extensively damaged can no longer hold one. I borrow from Rastafari and Jewish beliefs in my convictions about damaging the body in this way (Leviticus 21:5); I don't do drugs (poison), get tattoos (deformation), or otherwise change my body (e.g. get haircuts) as doing so could potentially damage my soul's contact with this world. I don't think I can know if people truly have souls, because we cannot see beyond the bounds of this reality. We can even question this reality to the point of discrediting everything outside our mind. I'm developing in the way that I'm deciding what I'll believe: whether there is a collective consciousness, or a God, or similar higher power. I like the idea of God being the soul of the Earth, as Earth seems a complex enough vessel for a soul to act through (although there is no apparent consciousness, only predictable systems). Now that I've spoken on humans and God, I'm not sure what awaits us after death. My belief that we have souls operating from another world would imply that souls survive after the death of the body - I don't know where they would go after, however. Perhaps the soul would face judgment before God (the soul of the Earth, the ultimate referee), and their overall positive or negative actions would be considered in any further action. I don't like the idea of Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell; their eternally unchanging nature unnerves me, although I have believed in them for a good part of my life. I prefer the idea of reincarnation, as I do feel that some people's souls seem older or younger than others in the way they become accustomed to the body and the world around them. I may be wrong, but if I recall correctly, Hindu belief dictates that a person's actions in their life as a human determines their soul's placement in the next - positive actions lead to you being born into fortune, or living a life as a majestic animal, while negative actions could lead to you being born into squalor, or living life as a fly. I weigh this belief from time to time, as it is comforting to imagine your good actions being rewarded (and maybe even your bad actions being punished), but it also opens up some uncomfortable societal structure such as the caste system (where Untouchables were considered to have been born into servitude and squalor as a consequence of their past evils). It may sound selfish or strange, but I am crafting my belief system under the pretense that we cannot know anything outside of our own minds. I want my belief structure to: 1. Comfort me as a just system, as I believe it is the individual's choice to decide what to believe and why - so why wouldn't they make it at least somewhat good for themselves? 2. Fit what I can know or seem to know about the world: respective examples include that mind and body are separate, and that people who use drugs damage their minds (the soul/body bridge) 3. Not seem too arrogant in its formulation - as solipsism, while remaining justifiable in my eyes, is.

I'll drop my response in the philosopher's gazebo. I think the discussions we've been having here would be better served in that location What is your favorite medium for music (DVD, vinyl, mp3)?

http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showuser=42510 ?

Basically your character comes to collect gym badges but that quickly falls to a background concern because the gym leaders keep escaping and killing themselves before they give you your rewards Also there's a city-wide conspiracy involving a secret society, a cult, a failed corporation, and an insane asylum You keep having to save children but morale dwindles as they grow progressively less grateful and useful to your original goals Eventually you just breed for shinies and IVs because it's easier than dealing with fictional characters' daddy issues

It has to be one word Barometer

He has lucario and bisharp on reserve but yeah the swinub is kind of annoying I just adblock signature gifs because they're usually big and loud Viri I rate yours 6/10, I like the theme you have going on with your account

I thought it would be something interesting to discuss I've never had a run-in with ghosts or paranormal activity but it's not entirely outside my belief system (which I'm still developing) Viri, if you ever faced circumstances like Dragon116 did, how would you explain it?

It's pronounced Nak-erd Shunted

I'll borrow this from an excerpt of Plato's The Republic: I found it a fascinating prompt and want to discuss it at length. Would you rather be an unjust person at heart, and live in a society that condones or rewards your actions (recognizes them as "just"); or be a just person at heart, and live in a society that ridicules/punishes your inclinations and actions (recognizes them as "unjust")? Socrates defined "justice" as "fulfilling one's appropriate role, and consequently giving to the city what is owed." This took place in the context of him constructing a theory revolving around cities though, so more broadly I think we can take "just" to mean upholding values such as a moral system, the furthering of knowledge (your own and society's), and other admirable pursuits. Unjustness would be abusing others, destroying knowledge, murdering, etc.

The spirit of a dead person who can still interfere in this realm

I am summoned anstane

I don't drink Do you believe in ghosts?

No Absol

Not sure where we go from here, in terms of subject matter We seem more or less in agreement on meditative practices Do you want to open up a new prompt?