Welcome behind the curtain

DonP said:
Don't make the mistake of thinking the world is a stage and we are players. The world is NOT a stage and we are NOT players. This is real life we are dealing with, and it is hard enough to meet it on those terms without inventing further complication.
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I don't believe that I have made a mistake, although I will agree that we may have different perceptions of reality, neither of which may be incorrect. Take myself for example...

I play many roles on this stage, this multidimensional stage. To provide an income for my family I play the role of a friendly familiar voice on the phone that has the knowledge and ability to instantly rectify your technical issue at any hour of the day, and do so happily. This is the perception that the troubled caller has of me. This is the reality that I present to them. I may have just lost a family member and be feeling very blue, but the show must go on! I do my job and I do it well. My stage is a sound stage, audio only and my performance is critiqued with a "performance review." If my review is poor, I will get kicked off the stage and not allowed to perform there ever again. If my performance is well received I will be allowed to continue performing at this gig until one of the two parties concerned no longer wishes to accept this reality. Here is the fork in the road where you can decide to change your reality and find a new stage to perform on or your reality could come to a sudden crash when your reality is changed for you and find yourself unexpectedly unemployed.

I have another stage I perform on playing the role of a husband. This is this role that requires me to perform the sponsoring role mentioned above. This role is a cameo I am allowed to play myself and show emotion. If I'm unhappy, I can express my unhappiness to my wife. Husband role I play by choice, friendly neighborhood IT geek role is played to support me playing the role of secure husband provider. Different stage, different role.

Reality's stage can change, can change at the drop of a hat. For years people can believe something to be true and BAM! We find out that what we may have believed to be true once, was actually not true. Science found out something new and our reality has changed to accept this new perception of reality as it is presented to us. Sorry if I have confused you and brought further complication to your reality. I realize this is a lot to take in.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Reason and logic have become underrated. Most every problem can be solved with a logical deduction. If you rob someone, kill other than in self-defense, lie, cheat on an exam or commit other subversive behaviors, logic would dictate that these are wrong actions and negative repercussions will follow.

We didn't have warning messages stamped into the barrel of a firearm when I was a kid because we knew not to point it at others. Everyone at my high school had hunting rifles and shotguns - loaded - and stored openly in racks visible through the back window of our trucks, and yet we never had a school shooting.

What changed??? The people have changed...

These days, it is apparently en-vogue to blame your actions on other people or on negative circumstances in your life, or blame alcohol for your poor judgment, as if this somehow exonerates you from culpability.

I also see an incredible one-sided tendency in our society. One group demands that a certain sect be allowed a particular freedom or action, even if it encroaches upon others...and yet that same group refuses to give any other group the same consideration.

I don't need the Code of Hanaraubi to tell me a negative action will produce consequences, or a warning label on an electric grille telling me its not wise to touch hot objects.

Unbelievable...
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(Sorry in advance Ray) The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers...

Just saying, Christmas tree lights...

xmas lights tags.JPG
 
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I must confess that my initial impression was that this thread related to the Warsaw Pact. Having lived "behind the Iron Curtain" during the 80s, I could share many memories.
By the way, I'm forbidden by US law to donate blood and platelets due to mad cow disease. Moooooooooooooooooooooooo.

funny-cartoon-cow-vector-972732.jpg
 
Reality: What a concept?

Regarding the above discussion of perception of reality.
Many folks these days (in the USA anyway) define their own reality in an emotional, fanatical almost religious fashion.
They preach it as undeniable and factual, then shame, demonize, and defame anyone who disagrees.

Running the alternate route:
While not a full blown believer, I am inclined to believe UFO / aliens may have visited earth in the distant past.
I dig the Ancient Aliens show; some of their arguments are very convincing.

Does anyone here think the USA moon landings were a hoax?
I don't.
I love NASA, been to the Kennedy Space Center twice in the last 2 years and will probably go again on our upcoming trip to FLA.
 
Chubbles said:
The problem is humor and satcasm can get in the way.
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Yeah, the PITA about this kind of discussion is that most of the posters insist in mocking/kidding.

Though I myself don't believe in anything particularly, many people have actually seen VERY interesting things they can't explain and it's fun to read about it.
 
Sérgio said:
Yeah, the PITA about this kind of discussion is that most of the posters insist in mocking/kidding.

Though I myself don't believe in anything particularly, many people have actually seen VERY interesting things they can't explain and it's fun to read about it.
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Mocking bad ideas is vital. What people believe informs their actions, and in the United States this is particularly insidious because nonsensical beliefs also form laws. This must be fought with every weapon available, and mockery is just one of them.

If you don't know how something happened, you can either admit that lack of knowledge or do the research. That is the honest approach. To make up an "answer" and demand others believe it is an affront to intelligence.
 
It’s funny how you seem to feel entitled to classify ideas as “bad” :LOL:

What you see as a bad idea, other people may see otherwise, or at least only like the fun of it.

Discussing one’s own experiences without “making up answers” is possible
 
Sérgio said:
It’s funny how you seem to feel entitled to classify ideas as “bad” :LOL:

What you see as a bad idea, other people may see otherwise, or at least only like the fun of it.
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I classify as bad ideas that are based in superstition rather than fact. If anyone thinks ideas based in superstition are good, I invite them to argue the point.
 
DonP said:
I classify as bad ideas that are based in superstition rather than fact. If anyone thinks ideas based in superstition are good, I invite them to argue the point.
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But who is basing any ideas in superstition?

What if the threads here go in the opposite direction, for instance? Demystifying weird experiences? There are actual scientific theories and experiments in that field.

Besides, like I said: sharing odd happenings can be simply... fun.
 
Sérgio said:
But who is basing any ideas in superstition?

What if the threads here go in the opposite direction, for instance? Demystifying weird experiences? There are actual scientific theories and experiments in that field.

Besides, like I said: sharing odd happenings can be simply... fun.
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Sharing odd experiences is fun - I agree. But many so-called supernatural phenomena over the years have been investigated and not a single one has ever been found to have a supernatural cause. So when something goes bump in the night, it's probably best not to assert that it is a ghost; not out loud anyway. People judge.
 
jtcnj said:
Reality: What a concept?

Regarding the above discussion of perception of reality.
Many folks these days (in the USA anyway) define their own reality in an emotional, fanatical almost religious fashion.
They preach it as undeniable and factual, then shame, demonize, and defame anyone who disagrees.

Running the alternate route:
While not a full blown believer, I am inclined to believe UFO / aliens may have visited earth in the distant past.
I dig the Ancient Aliens show; some of their arguments are very convincing.

Does anyone here think the USA moon landings were a hoax?
I don't.
I love NASA, been to the Kennedy Space Center twice in the last 2 years and will probably go again on our upcoming trip to FLA.
Click to expand...

I have been an avid believer that there is a possibility of life on other planets. I try to be an open minded person, not shutting out any possibilities unless I have proven to myself that something is not true. I grew up in Pasadena, CA, home of JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). I have friends that work at JPL and I have always wanted to work there too. Sci-Fi is my favorite entertainment, as a kid I wanted to be Will Robinson. I also lived near Skunk Works and often saw the Stealth Fighter and Stealth Bomber in the air over head when living in the Antelope Valley. I've witnessed the shuttle land at Edwards AFB.

Do I believe it is possible that the USA astronauts did not really land on the moon? Yes I do believe that this is a possibility. I do not know that man going to the moon, landing, exploring and coming back again is a fact as I have not seen it with my own eyes, in person. I did believe man went to the moon until very recently where I saw some evidence to dispute the truth of the moon landing. Perhaps we might dedicate a thread to this subject.


Here is a thread to continue this topic.
 
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