Does rampant suspicion reveal truth or merely distortions that tempt judgment and fear?
Imagine living in a world where you must be able, at all times, to prove beyond any doubt that you are innocent of any accusation that might be aimed at you. Then look around you.
Suspicion is a little different than doubt. Suspicion not only doubts, but hints at an alternate truth of which it seeks to lessen doubt.
In the state of suspicion, the mind is actually hoping to find evidence toward the suspected reality (wanting to avoid any doubt of it). When so narrowly focused, the mind sees only whatever evidence favors the suspicion and not seeking any other evidence, it sees no evidence to deny the suspicion.
Suspicion is inherently self-verifying (a fallacy in judgment) and blinding.
All of the religions are really about handling this one issue of the great serpent of Suspicion (often referred to as "The Devil").
The Zen Buddhist handles the problem by showing the student’s errors of presumption (effect of suspicion) so many times that the student's mind eventually stops trying. This is similar to the Medusa cure.
Science handles it by demanding observable demonstration. The word "demonstrate" actually means to "straighten out the demon". A "demon" is merely anything that divides the monarchy (any kind of monarchy or unified thing - "mon" = 1). A demon, "DE-MON"s something. Science doesn't really seek truth as much as it seeks agreement of as many as possible. This can only be accomplished by complying with reality, thus public (in the daylight of open criticism) demonstrations are key. But many things cannot be demonstrated and are too complex to be easily deduced by crippled minds.
The Jesus cure was more one of giving a short list of "good behavior" morals and having one of them as "maintain faith". The faith, btw, was to be in the behavior, not about believing in spirits. A primary good behavior was the concept of always seeking support of the good health of even your presumed enemies (thus not feeding the desire to suspect). Loving your enemies in the right way prevents the disease of fear and suspicion from spreading and justifying itself.
But in all of these cures, there has always been one weakness. That weakness is the comparatively narrow mind or focus ability of so very many people. An animal need not be crippled to have a narrow focus, but a human generally must be vexed into it either by medical ailment or by such a confusing environment that he doesn't have time to balance his thoughts and perception.
I have seen some in this forum attack the "superstitious people" proclaiming that if we could get rid of those, the world would be a much better place. Of course the superstitious are merely those who believe in something other than the real (by definition) which merely means that they are not only ignorant of what is real, but have accepted something that isn't real (the result again of suspecting).
The real truth is that you can never be rid of the superstitious for the exact same reason that all people could never know all things nor could all people accept that they know nothing at all. You cannot be rid of superstition except by being rid of people.
In a similar light, you cannot be rid of suspicion. So when you cannot be rid of something, you learn to use it.
In a way, I agree with their concerns. I just think it is a bit superstitious to suspect that you can be rid of superstition.
My personal opinion and recommendation involves the concept of TRUST.
Granted over the past few thousand years very, very many efforts have been made toward establishing a trustable organization. But each and every one has had a slight flaw. When a strong trust organization is formed yet has a tiny flaw, a mountainous organization WILL emerge from the sea, but in the long run, the rain (issues) from the clouds (confusion) seeps into the cracks and the mountain is eroded back into the sea.
This means that the trust must be sought to be truly a perfect thing. It should be obvious that such a perfectly formed trust is not simple nor easy. If it was, mankind would have done it long ago and none of what you see out there as society would be as it is – filled to the brim with doubt and error.
So beyond all else, that perfect trust method must be obsessively sought, not merely passively desired.
If it is not very seriously wanted, the efforts required to ensure it will be abandoned. Even though such a thing would truly end all wars and cause the subsequent cure for all diseases and misery, it would never be realized unless passionately sought, scrutinized beyond doubt, and truly accepted.
The method isn’t trivial. It isn’t simple until it is so well known that no one has to think. That is what eventually resolves the superstition problem – when real trustability is common knowledge.
So all of that means that the first thing to do is to seek out those very few who already truly want to know what to trust and how to trust it.
It takes very few to create the end of rampant suspicion. Mountains with solid foundations rise on their own. And if they are not susceptible to the rains, they only grow with time.
Imagine living in a world where you must be able, at all times, to prove beyond any doubt that you are innocent of any accusation that might be aimed at you. Then look around you.
Suspicion is a little different than doubt. Suspicion not only doubts, but hints at an alternate truth of which it seeks to lessen doubt.
In the state of suspicion, the mind is actually hoping to find evidence toward the suspected reality (wanting to avoid any doubt of it). When so narrowly focused, the mind sees only whatever evidence favors the suspicion and not seeking any other evidence, it sees no evidence to deny the suspicion.
Suspicion is inherently self-verifying (a fallacy in judgment) and blinding.
All of the religions are really about handling this one issue of the great serpent of Suspicion (often referred to as "The Devil").
The Zen Buddhist handles the problem by showing the student’s errors of presumption (effect of suspicion) so many times that the student's mind eventually stops trying. This is similar to the Medusa cure.
Science handles it by demanding observable demonstration. The word "demonstrate" actually means to "straighten out the demon". A "demon" is merely anything that divides the monarchy (any kind of monarchy or unified thing - "mon" = 1). A demon, "DE-MON"s something. Science doesn't really seek truth as much as it seeks agreement of as many as possible. This can only be accomplished by complying with reality, thus public (in the daylight of open criticism) demonstrations are key. But many things cannot be demonstrated and are too complex to be easily deduced by crippled minds.
The Jesus cure was more one of giving a short list of "good behavior" morals and having one of them as "maintain faith". The faith, btw, was to be in the behavior, not about believing in spirits. A primary good behavior was the concept of always seeking support of the good health of even your presumed enemies (thus not feeding the desire to suspect). Loving your enemies in the right way prevents the disease of fear and suspicion from spreading and justifying itself.
But in all of these cures, there has always been one weakness. That weakness is the comparatively narrow mind or focus ability of so very many people. An animal need not be crippled to have a narrow focus, but a human generally must be vexed into it either by medical ailment or by such a confusing environment that he doesn't have time to balance his thoughts and perception.
I have seen some in this forum attack the "superstitious people" proclaiming that if we could get rid of those, the world would be a much better place. Of course the superstitious are merely those who believe in something other than the real (by definition) which merely means that they are not only ignorant of what is real, but have accepted something that isn't real (the result again of suspecting).
The real truth is that you can never be rid of the superstitious for the exact same reason that all people could never know all things nor could all people accept that they know nothing at all. You cannot be rid of superstition except by being rid of people.
In a similar light, you cannot be rid of suspicion. So when you cannot be rid of something, you learn to use it.
In a way, I agree with their concerns. I just think it is a bit superstitious to suspect that you can be rid of superstition.
My personal opinion and recommendation involves the concept of TRUST.
Granted over the past few thousand years very, very many efforts have been made toward establishing a trustable organization. But each and every one has had a slight flaw. When a strong trust organization is formed yet has a tiny flaw, a mountainous organization WILL emerge from the sea, but in the long run, the rain (issues) from the clouds (confusion) seeps into the cracks and the mountain is eroded back into the sea.
This means that the trust must be sought to be truly a perfect thing. It should be obvious that such a perfectly formed trust is not simple nor easy. If it was, mankind would have done it long ago and none of what you see out there as society would be as it is – filled to the brim with doubt and error.
So beyond all else, that perfect trust method must be obsessively sought, not merely passively desired.
If it is not very seriously wanted, the efforts required to ensure it will be abandoned. Even though such a thing would truly end all wars and cause the subsequent cure for all diseases and misery, it would never be realized unless passionately sought, scrutinized beyond doubt, and truly accepted.
The method isn’t trivial. It isn’t simple until it is so well known that no one has to think. That is what eventually resolves the superstition problem – when real trustability is common knowledge.
So all of that means that the first thing to do is to seek out those very few who already truly want to know what to trust and how to trust it.
It takes very few to create the end of rampant suspicion. Mountains with solid foundations rise on their own. And if they are not susceptible to the rains, they only grow with time.
