Alas (or at last!!), the last of the Harr(is)-assment assessment....
So, maybe what I have done, over the course of a year of listening to Harris, is to pick and choose the conversations I wish to hear. If he becomes too arrogant or too reason-thumping, hitting the religious minded over the head with the Book of Harris, I will turn to my neighbor and quietly say “ oh, he gets like that sometimes…you have to ignore him” …it is easy for me to extract what I want from him and discard the rest…maybe a bit too easy. One of my flaws is to see the human in all that I encounter, to understand our flaws (innocent til guilty)…but this might be how monsters are created or allowed to roam the earth, promoting their agenda…I am much too trusting that they intend well and rarely do I mete out consequences for their behaviors.
These diagram are sandboxes we have created. As the old man on the porch, I can only wish that I can rock away in my chair as the family plays around, building castles,digging deeper together. Then along comes Uncle Sam, saying that we are building our foundation all wrong ("is that a castle or a church? what…a church?! Uncle Sam kicks over the sand work) , using the wrong tools. Five minutes later everyone has sand in their eyes, bumps and bruises…even the parents are involved, forcing the elderly keister to rise and find some order.
Ahhhh…now I understand why my friend Ed wanted everyone to play in their chosen sandbox. So, yes, I fully agree with you that we are where we are as a whole for a reason. This is a pipe dream, but I will continue crawling through these pipes, no matter how much buildup one must squeeze through in order to get to the more inclusive reality at the other side.
And a reply to @johnnydavis54 and "anyone still following"
Sure hope not! We are at the end of a year, but the maps remain. Online, it may be difficult to convey the application our maps and the appreciation for the guidance you gave us with their formation. You and now Sloterdijk (in some odd manner) are providing me with some novel headspace and thus novel exterior formation.
Maybe we but only need our fearful leader, our very own Cosmic (Cosmos?) Christ to unite our various tangents!
Another beautiful discovery, John. I meet with an older friend weekly who has been contemplating death and the trauma that may come his way based upon family medical history. He is interested in the use of psychedelics as an alternative to medication and an antidote to death anxiety. Julie Yau seems to be a psychedelic pill in her own right.