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FAN BASS: RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY

February 9th, 2012

42

Bassnectar on religion and philosophyTime for another trip to the Fan Bass, where we’ve compiled another two questions into one double post for Lorin to discuss – this time touching on religion and philosophy.

Please get involved in the conversation in the comments below, or if you have a different question to posit, send it HERE. Now read on, people of the Bass:

QUESTION:
“I’m curious about the nature of your spiritual beliefs / knowledge / practices. I’m not a religious person myself but spirituality and the way that people connect with reality is of particular interest to me. I’m just wondering because you seem to be very conscious of other people and the world we live in.” – Micheal Margolis

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Short story: Treat other people how you wish to be treated.

Longer story: I could write a NOVEL about my opinions on religion, spirituality & the meaning of life. I do not think human beings have the capacity to fully understand the universe, and yet I think attempting to understand it is how we discover beauty. Einsten writes about the power of surrendering to the mystery of life, and finding beauty in phenomenon you cannot explain (but which is no less beautiful without explanation). Ghandi taught peace, Jesus taught love, and God taught us about Satan. Humans are awesome, and ridiculous. We add so much hysteria and confusion to everything, and yet we are all so beautiful & vunerable. I believe that human existence is simultaneously meaningless (in 5 billion years nobody will remember us) and meaningful (everything happening now feels so urgent & important) and I believe that due to that duality, there is no absolute good or evil. Only changing perspective of amorphous issues, across a wide spectrum of context. With infinite room for mistake and misunderstanding. Everything continues to change and surprise us so in the meantime, I try and treat other people how I want them to treat me.

PS: My own relationship with religion, including anti-religion, is another story all together 🙂


QUESTION:

“Dear Lorin, I would like to ask you how you view our future. You have traveled the world and seen many faces of creation. What are you philosophical and spiritual views? How do you see us as a civilization progressing?” – Albert

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I think it is common for people to think about themselves, their culture or their nation in a self-centric fashion. Americans think America is the greatest. The Chinese think China is the greatest. Christians think Christians are the greatest. And today, many people think we are nearing the end of the world as a civilization (Whether it is 2012, Y2K, or just a general sense that our cultural values are detiriorating, and we are nearing The End Times). I think people probably felt that way during the 1960s (Vietnam, assassinations of JFK and MLK, etc) and they definitely felt that way during World War 2, or the Great Depression, or World War 1. I bet they felt that way during the peak of the Small Pox epidemic, or the Bubonic Plague. But our drive is to survive, and I think we can not only persevere adversity, but also constantly improve ourselves and our socitey (cultural evolution).

I do not have much insight into the future, but I do think it is important to find what you love, and not focus on what you hate. I see so much of that online (needless and pointless bickering, negativity, and critique). The grass is always greener on the other side, and life is very short. I try to spend my time focusing on what I am grateful for, but I think it is also important to be an active member of communities and societies, and to reach out to other people. I think in general most people need more discipline, more patience, and more humility (myself included). And I think that all of us should spend more time listening, reading, asking, and learning, and less time assuming we know best. I hope that helps.

Regardless, we all seem so small in such a vast space of mystery, and that alone is more beautiful than words. This link illustrates it well, enjoy: CLICK HERE.