Philosophy

The human journey is about LEARN and UNLEARN

Written by Razhiel, posted on 15 May 2024 also on theearthforce.tumblr.com and Instagram.

At various parts of our human journey, we have to learn and focus on different things. Sometimes, we even have to unlearn what used to serve us.

For instance, when we were kids, we were taught to obey authority, such as our parents and teachers. We might even be subjected to some merit and reward systems that reinforced us to behave in certain ways. If we were under the guidance of good teachers and caring parents, the teachings—in other words, the "programs"—that we received from them could serve us well, as we were encouraged to gain knowledge and learn important values from them.

However, when we get older, this kind of programming can push us to blindly obey authorities, resulting in harmful situations for both ourselves and the people around us. In history, there were many cases where people followed orders from authorities that had detrimental effects. For example, East German border guards were commanded to shoot people who tried to escape East Germany. Not only were the people who got shot killed, but some guards were charged with homicide and sentenced to prison after Germany was reunited.

Therefore, as we progress in our human journey, it is important to review what we have learnt and been programmed before, and determine whether it still benefits us or if it's time to let go of it.

Our Amazing Physical Experience

Written by Razhiel, posted on 24 March 2023 also on theearthforce.tumblr.com and Instagram.

We are spiritual beings having a physical experience, and our experience in this physical world has merits.

The physical world certainly puts a lot of constraints and inconvenience in our lives. For example, manifestations here are slow and require much effort; we are limited by time; we can’t travel at will; we have to do a lot of work to sustain a healthy physical body. However, because of our limitations in this world, we can learn lessons, and experience beauty that may not be available in other worlds and dimensions:

1. Focus, Patience and determination
A house has to be built brick by brick. A mountain has to be removed bit by bit. To achieve our goals, we learn to maintain our focus, be patient and practice determination.

2. Prioritization and planning
Because time is limited, we have to decide wisely which tasks we need to do first. Because materials are limited, we have to figure out how to use and distribute them effectively. Thus, we learn how to prioritize, make plans and make decisions.

3. Precision and meticulousness
Due to our inability to move at will in this world, humanity develops airplanes. An airliner requires millions of components assembled together with close-to-perfect precision in order for it to fly safely in the sky. Truly an art to build a craft to such details with tremendous precision!

4. Courage, strong will, and self-sacrificing
It is not hard when one is Superman trying to save a person from a burning building, but it requires courage, strong will, and a self-sacrificing personality for a human to do so. We get to see and experience the beauty of a mortal executing something difficult, risky, or even seemingly impossible.

5. Faith and devotion
When we can’t foresee the future, it requires faith to make an important life decision, and both faith and devotion to keep it for years to come. It is particularly beautiful when one continues devoting themselves to an important cause or something higher than themselves despite all the physical situations seemingly going against it. It shows the true characters of a person.

"A law that can be stated is not a universal law. A name that can be named is not a universal name."

"A law that can be stated is not a universal law.

A name that can be named is not a universal name."

— 老子 (Laozi), founder of Taoism

Interpretation written by Razhiel, posted on 15 September 2022 also on theearthforce.tumblr.com and Instagram.

The universally true essence of everything in the world cannot be conveyed verbally. Fundamentally, everything is energy that cannot be described properly by any human language.

A pineapple is called “pineapple” in English, but “ananas” in some languages, such as Arabic, French and Hindi. What is the universal name of pineapple?

Similarly, the universal law that governs the world cannot be stated. The first reason is each of us can only grasp a part of it to a certain depth and from our personal angle, which is bound by our beliefs, backgrounds and abilities to perceive. The second reason is due to the impossibility to describe something universal with a tool – our languages – that has limitations.

Humanity will never fully understand the world, but there is beauty in approaching the answer, even when it requires an infinite amount of steps.

Above is my interpretation of Laozi’s famous quote “道可道, 非常道; 名可名, 非常名”. It is not intended to be the solely valid interpretation of this renowned sentence. Perhaps, the universal interpretation is beyond words!