Religion 11 - The Power, Jesus, and a Life Force

An intense on-line discussion encourages me to copy my thoughts on the subject here:

We have been indoctrinated with theological meanings of the two words, Heaven and Hell (Initial Caps) and there are variations in all religions.  We are but grains of sand in the universe and simply know little of our reality, and we refer to it, today, as the supernatural, a word unknown a thousand years ago.  But man (woman) needed something to believe in … and ‘wise’ men took us for a ride.  They convinced us that Heaven was something to look forward to and non-believers would go to Hell (The word ‘Hell’ was simply a necessary antonym for Heaven).  All awhile it was necessary to humanize these things;  God, our Father, the old bearded man, and the Devil with horns.  The sun, moon and stars were beyond belief, which is unfortunate, as the universe is, probably, closer to the truth.

Thus, how was the Universe created?  We have yet to discover the answer.  It may have been created by a God (a humanized term) but, a more probable theory, easier to accept, is the creation by a huge supernatural Power (Described in the Star Wars Trilogy ⎯― not to belittle the idea) related to the Big Bang theory (a life force).

Jesus, a sentient being, was of course a real person, written about during his time, a philosopher of great respect, and capable of ‘miracles’ that, today, could be better explained.  Surely, he lost a lot of blood on the cross, but did he die … and was there an ascension?  Remember, the Buddha died a natural death, there is a tomb, and Buddhism is alive and well.

Then, there is the Holy Ghost, sometimes referred to as our Soul ― within us but unseen by a CT-scan, for example.  Asian people refer to the Qi, a traditional Chinese culture, qi or ch’i, believed to be a vital force forming part of any living thing.  Qi translates as "air" and figuratively as "material energy", "life force", or "energy flow”.  Qi is the central underlying principle in Chinese traditional medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The practice of cultivating and balancing qi is called qigong.

Therefore, could we believe in the Power, Jesus, and the Qi?

Being, often, without words for a blog, I should transfer this here.  But it’s here already.

See:  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.ca/2011/08/religion-2-are-you-religious.html

May The Power be with you.

An Emergency

It seems that my recent 911 call for the emergency services has attracted some attention, such that its implications should be brought to a wider audience.  So, for those interested, I shall expose.

Last month, I suffered an almost unbearable stomach pain that would not go away.  If you have ever suffered from a gall stone attack, then, you will have some idea.  In fact, and this may sound stupid, I let it persist for more than 24 hours (TUMS was useless).  I should also mention that my gall bladder had been removed many years ago.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

“Brr, brr.  Brr, brr ...”

“What service do you require?”

“Ambulance.  Please.”

“What’s the problem?”

(I wanted to say that I needed an ambulance … but I didn’t)

“I have a serious stomach pain.”

  (Some detail removed here)

“Ok, they will be there shortly.”

I sat down near to the window to await their arrival.

“Bang, bang, bang ...”

They were at my apartment door.  There had been no siren, no call from the lobby.  Scotty must have beamed them up.

Dressed in my pyjamas and a dressing gown, I was told to get onto the gurney, just given time to grab my wallet, phone, and meds, and wheeled towards the ambulance.

Without any further delay, we quickly, but silently, drove to the hospital.  I asked if the ambulance was sound-proofed, because I couldn't hear a siren.  “We only use the siren in an emergency.” she said, “It’s too dangerous for other traffic.”  I became very thoughtful, but kept my naive questions to myself.

Upon arrival at the hospital (about 45 minutes after my call) the gurney was wheeled into the Emergency Department and lined up behind four other gurneys … and we waited … and waited.

  Note:  University Hospital, London, Ontario.

After a period of about 20 minutes listening to the chatter between the ambulance teams, my team advised me that they had another call, would put me in a wheelchair, and transfer me to the main lobby.  Why just me? I thought (According to regulations, patients were not to be left alone until handed over to the duty doctor).  It was still winter, and I was, now, in the draughty main entrance wearing only pyjamas.  I must have been there for, at least, 50 minutes watching many walk-in patients come and go before I heard my name called.  Not having a wheelchair license, I attempted a clumsy journey to the other side of the room.  Then into a ward, where I was asked to wear a gown and lay on a bed   (Nearly 2 hours since my phone call).

The doctor, after listening to my story, decided that a blood test would be a good idea.  After about 25 minutes, I was officially admitted and wheeled upstairs to share a room with a guy recovering from heart by-pass surgery, who seemed to be mumbling a strange mantra behind a screen.  I was hooked-up to an intravenous drip line and additional blood-work was done.  Night came and a very nice nurse suggested that I try to sleep.

Next morning at 5 AM, more blood was taken, then, after breakfast (Remind me not to complain about airline food any more) I was told that the previous tests had revealed nothing.  Later, I was taken to the ultra-scan department and, hours later, more blood was sucked from me … I listened for the sound of Dracula.

The next day, I was sent for a CT-scan, given lunch, and informed that I could leave.  There I was, on my own, in my pyjamas, and very embarrassed standing in the main entrance trying to wave down a taxi.

I have a follow-up appointment with the hospital doctor next month but, so far, no one seems to have any idea of a diagnosis which doesn’t please my G.P.  Would it be wrong to say, “To be continued?”

Quotation - Happiness

"Happiness is a pointless goal. Don’t compare yourself with other people, compare yourself with who you were yesterday. No one gets away with anything, ever, so take responsibility for your own life. You conjure your own world, not only metaphorically but also literally and neurologically. These lessons are what the great stories and myths have been telling us since civilisation began."

Jordan Peterson (2018)

Religion 10 - Dual Relationship

Recently, I have been examining the question of religious relationship.  Is it acceptable for us to follow more than one belief, for example, both Christianity and Buddhism?  Are the two mutually exclusive?  

I have written before, in answer to those who describe themselves as religiously atheist (Religion 2 - Are You Religious?  August, 2011) and, while it did not appear to cause much controversy, hopefully, it may have caused some thought.  Note;  You may wish to search by using the Question field at the top of this page.

I have been known to describe myself as a Buddhist Christian, a believer of selective composite thoughts from the words of both Jesus and the Buddha.

Following confirmation in the Anglican church, I became a member of the High Anglican community (A composite of both Catholic and Protestant  religions, in other words, Catholic with divorce).  After some time, this became too complicated for me and I began to seek something that suited my twenty-first century mind.

Firstly, the trilogy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost was difficult to accept, because who or what is the Father, an old man with a grey beard?  Jesus as the Son, a known sentient being, is acceptable, but the Holy Ghost may sound frightening to some.  The Buddha was a sentient being (The son of a rich Indian leader) but not a god in a religious sense, albeit, highly revered.  From Buddha we have a trilogy of the Power, the Buddha, and the Qi (soul), although these are not specifically of Buddhist ideology, and may cause emotion, please do not accuse me of blasphemy. 

I should be happy with this subject as long as there are comments.

“You will not be punished for your anger.

You will be punished by your anger”

Buddha

Autonomous Driving

The future of driving with an automatic pilot system 

       Things having not been going well for autonomous automobiles recently.  A Tesla Model X was involved in a crash while on autopilot.  A Uber self-driving vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian walking her bicycle,  Then, there was a driver whose Model S drove him right into a truck.  All of this is causing an amount of serious anxiety.  There are many questions, for example;  How safe are they at the moment?  Will they be safer than human drivers?  And finally, what are various safety agencies doing about the problem?

     In the U.S., it has been calculated that there were 1.18 fatalities per 100 million miles driven by all automobiles in 2016.  This is a clever statistic by the Administration to try to show less than those who were killed by handguns.  Google started testing autonomous automobiles in 2009 and there still needs to be greater attention given to the problems.

     The problem, if it is ever to be resolved, is to test these cars in real-world conditions with mandatory ‘safety drivers’ behind the wheel at all times.  But that is easier said than done.

     In the early days of aviation, aircraft required the continuous attention of a pilot to fly safely.  The first aircraft autopilot was developed in 1912. It permitted the aircraft to fly straight and level on a compass course without a pilot's attention, greatly reducing the pilot's workload.  This was more than 100 years ago.  Today, we still have a problem.  Although some aircraft can fly autonomously, including the takeoff and landing, it seems that an autonomously enabled car may still crash into something.

     Thus, at the moment, they are not safe, they may never be more safe than skilled drivers, and safety agencies need to do more.

     If an aircraft can land in the exact center of a runway at 150 knots, and taxi to the gate on autopilot, even with both a first and a second pilot in place, what is next?  Aircraft are using a basic form of artificial intelligence (A.I.).  That’s next.

 Aircraft in the air, travelling at 300 knots, are still monitored and controlled from the ground (A.T.C.) by highly trained humans.  Therefore, for many more decades, even with A.I., automobiles will require safety drivers … just in case.