20220316 SLLLAVERS FOR WEDNESDAY - 4th DAY of doing ROUTINE! YAY!

SILENCE

Tried.

LLL

Live.  Laugh.  Love.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
5. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
6. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
7. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
8. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
9. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
10. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.

Also said aloud for 70 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

200.6  Today's weight

200.0  Yesterday's weight

+0.6

I visualize weighing less tomorrow

EXERCISE

I did my full base-72 routine for Wednesday, March 16, 2002:

1. ankle/wrist circles 72
2. toe/finger stretches 72
3. bicycle crunches 72
4. shoulder rolls 72
5. inversion table 1 1-min set
6. (did NOT do EPLEY MANEUVER today, so see if it makes a diff)
7. ball/wall 12
8. angel/wall 12
9. counter stretch 10
10. squats 36
11. push-ups 36

READING, WRITING

Read for 70 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that I might be uncomfortable calling Communism a "religion."  He says it doesn't make any difference.  Communism is still based on an order that is beyond the human level, just as Buddhism is.  He adds that it would be impossible to draw distinct lines, dividing the various religions and groups of believers.  To summarize what he writes:

*  We can divide creeds into 2 general groups:

1. God-centered religions, claiming to be based on God's laws
2. God-less ideologies, claiming to be based on natural laws

However, we then must necessarily categories SOME Buddhist, Daoist, and Stoic sects as ideologies.

And, some modern ideologies include belief in gods

Further, liberalism (says Harari) makes no sense without belief in gods.

Harari lists the following observations about religion and ideologies:

• We cannot even survey the modern-day religions & ideologies b/c they are too many and they have blurred boundaries.
• They are all syncretic (attempted amalgamation of different beliefs)
• They are at least AS syncretic as monotheism or popular Buddhism.
• A Buddhist could be a Buddhist but also worship Hindu dieties.
• A monotheist could also believe in the existence of Satan.
• The typical American today is    a)  a nationalist, believing that America plays a special role in history,    b)  a free-market capitalist, believing that open competition and the pursuit of self interest are the best ways to reach a prosperous society,    and c)  a liberal humanist, believing that all humans have been endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.

Further, Harari lists his intentions for the rest of this book:

NATIONALISM - Chapter 18

CAPITALISM - Chapter 16

HUMANIST RELIGIONS - the remainder of this Chapter (THE LAW OF RELIGION - Chapter 12)

Read for 70 seconds in A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama.  He recalls how he evaluated Joe Biden as his running mate for President.  He discusses Joe's qualities (pros & cons); it's interesting to see how BO felt about Biden.... compared to how Joe Biden has risen to the challenge of his own Presidency.  With men (or women, or course) like BO and JB, our country is in safer and more comfortable hands.

Read for 70 seconds in WORKING WITH ONENESS by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee.  He says we are ushering in this new era with love (for God).  I get the impression as I read Vaughan-Lee, that he believes we are to enter into the sea of the love of God, and dissolve.  We let go of the safety of the shore (or the walls of the pool), and have the trust in God needed to become completely part of God's identity, and we thus lose our own.  He adds, "what does it matter?"

I recall a similar idea expressed by a Mormon Apostle (M.Romney), to whom I put the question, "What does it mean to be told in my Patriarchal Blessing that I would be....... " (I can't recall the exact phrase used, and I don't want to go look it up.)  Romney's reply was "I know of some people who have that.  But what does it matter?"  At the time, I was disappointed because he didn't specifically answer my question.  But I also sensed the truth of his reply.  It truly DID NOT matter.  It did not matter because the LDS creeds are made-up lies designed to pick the pockets of the unsuspecting, innocent young members.  It also did not matter because we humans are all floating in a sea of uncertainty, and try as we might, we cannot be sure of who we are and why we're here.  Mormons would likely state, "It's in God's hands."  As a post-Mormon, I am still asking the questions "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?"

(enough of all this for today)

Read for 70 seconds in THE RIGHTEOUS MIND by Jonathan Haidt.  He says, in answering the question "Where does morality come from?" that there are 2 obvious answers:

1. Nature:  A nativist would say that moral nature is native to our minds, put there by God, or evolved moral emotions (Darwin).
2. Nurture:  An empiricist would say that newly born humans are "blank slates" (John Locke), else why are there so many differing moral codes around the world & throughout history?

But, Haidt says, the above is a false choice, since there is a third one:

        3.  Rationalism:  A rationalist would say that kids grow up and figure out morality quetions themselves (Jean Piaget - Haidt calls him "the greatest developmental psychologist of all time.")

Read for 1+ page in AN AMERICAN FAMILY by Jon and Michael Galluccio.

Read for 1+ page in THE PERSIAN BOY by Mary Renault